When it Rains it Pours
by MillicentMelodyMay08
Summary: Set between series 2 and 3. On a heavily rainy day, it falls to Janet to rescue the team from the foul mood of one DCI Murray by going in search of coffee. Unbeknownst to her, there is great danger lurking nearby - setting events in motion with disasterous consequences for them all. (My first fanfiction ever!)
1. Chapter 1

"I hate the rain".

Several hums of agreement sounded in unison as lightening lit up the crowded office. Rain trickled down the windows; the outside world shrouded in thick white fog as stormy clouds descended on the city of Greater Manchester. The dim greyness of the sky seemed to reflect the general mood of Syndicate 9's best detectives, as they sat pondering what to do with themselves on this wet and miserable day. None of the electrics were working properly due to the main power supply being hit by lightning and the entire building was working on emergency backup. It wasn't long before everyone had given up trying to work in the dark.

"If only I could go and get a coffee" DCI Murray said to herself as she glared out of her window in frustration. Affectionately known as 'Godzilla' by her colleagues; Gill Murray's temper often got the best of her well-controlled emotions. When it came to coffee – which of course was a necessity – Gill knew that without one it wouldn't take long for her temper to flare up, and she would soon be harassing members of her team.

"Anyone willing to go and fetch a cuppa?" she called jokingly, half hoping that someone would answer, but nobody said a word.

"I guess that means no then" Gill muttered under her breath. It had been raining all day, and showed no signs of letting up. There were no phones, no computers, no fridge, no kettle... no coffee.

Gill was pulled out of her thoughts by a quiet laugh.

"Oh Gill I'm sure it can't last much longer. It's only a little rain!"

Gill turned away from the window to find Janet standing in the doorway to her office.

"A little rain?" Gill pointed out of the window, "You call that a little rain?"

Janet shook her head, "It won't last forever Gill".

DCI Murray slumped into her chair and let out a groan, an unimpressed expression on her tired face. Thunder rumbled loudly overhead, reminding Gill of her rumbling stomach. Janet walked over to her, amused by her Boss's lack of enthusiasm. Usually she would make the best of a situation and grumble at anyone who complained; yet here she was complaining about coffee!

"Gill" said Janet, leaning forward in the attempt to gain her attention, "if you really want a cup of coffee why don't you go and get one?"

Gill looked at her as if she had gone mad. Go out in this rain? Was she crazy?

"You just asked if anyone would be willing to go" Janet pointed out.

"Jan, anyone willing to go out in this weather would have to be completely insane. You'd be soaked through within a minute!"

Gill put her head on the desk and groaned. Janet couldn't help but laugh, "Gill, if you really want a coffee I will go and get you one".

Gill's head snapped up, "Oh no you _won't_".

Janet raised an eyebrow, "Won't I?"

"No!" said Gill, pointing a finger at her, "If you get soaked through - which you will - and come down with something, I will not only loose a valuable member of my team - temporarily of course - but I'll be responsible".

"Gill it's just a little rain!" Janet argued, folding her arms across her chest. Gill held up her hands. She could not argue with this woman. After twenty years of friendship she should know that by now.

"I'm going to go and get you a coffee" Janet confirmed, walking out of Gill's office with a smile on her face. Gill's mouth dropped open, the shock of her friend's statement mingling with the delightful thought of coffee: a creamy white coffee sprinkled with dark chocolate with just a hint of... Coming back to her senses, Gill rushed after Janet who was standing by her desk putting her coat on.

"Janet, don't be daft!" she exclaimed, "I was just being ridiculous. It's only coffee for goodness sake".

Janet laughed, "Gill I am going to get you a coffee because one - you won't stop complaining without one, and two – I want one as well".

Well she couldn't argue with that could she?

"Janet come on you'll be drenched by the time you get back" said Rachel, with a look of concern. It was starting to rain harder.

"Don't you start on me too!" said Janet, slinging her bag over her shoulder, "Besides I'll be back in a couple of minutes".

"Anyone else want a coffee?" shouted Rachel, to which there was an eruption of conversation and a rise of hands.

"Latte for me!" called Rob.

"Cappuccino!" shouted Pete.

"Mocha please" said Lee.

"Oooh mocha how posh!" teased Kevin, making everyone laugh.

Rachel grinned at Janet, "Well if you're gonna go you may as well do them all at once".

'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea' thought Janet, pulling up the collar of her coat to try and shelter herself from the battering rain. All this for a cup of coffee! The street was deserted, but she could feel the eyes of everyone peering out of the office windows on her back. Fog had descended on Greater Manchester, mingling with the grey sky overhead. It was raining harder now, the thunder rumbling louder than ever.

Janet could see the cafe on the corner of the street. She felt like running, but in the shoes she was wearing it would be easy to fall over. A car came past and she had to jump out of the way to avoid being splashed by the puddles that gathered near the curb. Janet laughed a little half-heartedly, "When it rains it pours".


	2. Chapter 2

I'm so excited about this story I couldn't help uploading another chapter. Thanks to Daydreams-About-Fallen-Stars for being my first reviewer ever! Also, I don't own Scott and Bailey - much to my dismay. Enjoy :)

* * *

"She's been gone a while" said Rachel, sub-consciously clicking her pen on and off, "The cafe's only down the road".

"Rachel, she's only been gone ten minutes" Gill shrugged, "Besides she's probably just drying off".

But deep down she couldn't help the little nag of doubt that was twisting in her stomach.

"Hiya" Janet greeted as she walked into the café, taking her soaking wet scarf from around her neck. The lady behind the counter smiled at her, "Never seen so much rain".

"I know it's crazy" Janet agreed, leaning over the counter.

"What can I get for you?" the lady asked. Janet hesitated, trying to remember how many cups of coffee she was meant to be buying for her colleagues, "Well..."

Twenty minutes later and Janet had managed to buy a total of 10 coffees, all carefully placed in a box that the lady had kindly given her. The rain seemed to be thrashing even harder now, and Janet wondered whether it was worth waiting until it wasn't quite so torrential, but by then the coffee might be cold as it would be likely to be raining all day.

"Thanks" called Janet, as she stepped back outside into the miserable weather. 'I must be mad doing this', she thought.

"Boss, she's been over half an hour!" said Rachel, walking into Gill's office, nervousness lacing her voice. Since Janet was stabbed, Rachel had become a little over-protective of her friend – although she wasn't aware of it. The change in her attitude had come as a surprise to Gill; the usual irrational, not-a-care-in-the-world Rachel was now worrying like a mother over her child. It was quite comical.

Gill looked outside. The rain was hammering down onto the streets below – it could have been described as a monsoon! 'Stupid girl', she thought, 'she always was stubborn'.

"I'm sure she's fine, Rachel" she said, turning to her distressed employee, "Just give her some time. It's not easy walking in rain with a hand full of coffees!"

Rachel wasn't wholly convinced.

"Janet, don't you ever do anything like this again!" Janet complained to herself out loud, "What on earth were you thinking going out in weather like this?"

The rain stung at her face; her hair was plastered to her head. They'd probably all moan when she got back, but she carried on regardless. She never noticed the quickening footsteps behind her.

"Boss, we've just had a call from DCI Dodson. Homer's confessed!"

"Well I'll be" exclaimed Gill, looking up from her phone, "looks like the case is over everyone!"

There was a small round of clapping in the office, but it was over-shadowed by the horrific memories of the most recent number of murders. It had been a particularly hard case, and Gill was proud of her team for having dealt with it so well. She was pulled out of her thoughts by her phone. Gill picked it up and grinned. DCI Dodson was calling her.

"Hiya Slap!" she greeted, standing up to look out of the window for any sign of Janet. She certainly was taking her time.

"Hi Gill" Julie replied, a little wearily.

"What's up?" asked Gill. She could hear the undertone of worry in her friend's voice, and Julie was not one to worry about anything unless it was serious. It was quiet on the other end of the phone.

"Hastings is out".


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much for all the reviews! It really gave me a buzz knowing you all like it so far. So here's the next chapter - hopefully the updates won't be spread too far apart because I know what it's like having to wait for ages for the next part of a story and it's highly frustrating. Enjoy :)

* * *

It had grown darker overhead; dark like a looming shadow. Janet felt a sense of foreboding creep up on her as she walked back down the rain battered street. Something wasn't right. Finally she reached the doors of the police station. Dripping wet from head to toe, she placed the box of coffee on a nearby table. 'I can't go in looking like this' she thought.

"Could someone take this up to DCI Murray please?" she asked the receptionist, who gave her an empathetic smile.

"Sure".

Janet headed towards the toilets, but when she went to take her phone out of her pocket she found it wasn't there. In fact it wasn't anywhere. 'I must have left it in the cafe' thought Janet, although she didn't remember ever taking it out of her pocket. Looking outside, she sighed and braced herself for the onlash of rain.

She winced as she walked through the door, collar up, head down. The rain roared in her ears, lightening flashing in the distance. A figure shrouded in fog walked towards her, the rain blurring the silhouette. Janet felt a terrible sense of familiarity as paranoia took hold of her. And it was then that she saw him.

.o.o.o.

"Boss!" a voice shouted, "Coffee's arrived!"

Gill looked up at the mention of coffee. 'Finally!' she thought, walking into the office. There was a rush of excitement, and a number of happy sighs as the coffees were handed out.

"Where's Janet?" asked Rachel, walking over to her. Gill shrugged, "Dunno kid. Who brought the box in?"

"One of the reception team. No one's seen her".

Gill couldn't mistake the uneasiness in Rachel's voice.

.o.o.o.

His eyes seemed to pierce her soul, and a shiver went down her spine. Janet had hoped never to set eyes on him again. Not after what had happened. She knew she had hurt him, just as deeply as he had hurt her. A searing pain shot through her like a knife; the same pain she felt every time she saw him. He towered over her, and Janet wished she could melt into the floor - melt like the rain - but she couldn't. He took her hand in his, his eyes lowered.

"It's been a long time" he said, stroking the back of her hand. Janet shivered, whether from the cold rain or his touch she wasn't sure.

"Yes it has" she replied, nodding. He looked up at her, and a slow smile spread across his features.

"Janet".

She took a deep breath.

"Adrian".

.o.o.o.

Gill stood by her window, her arms happily folded across her chest. Rachel had let out a huge sigh of relief when she had spotted Janet down in the street. Gill looked away from the window. The little display of affection she had just witnessed had made her smile, but she knew her friend must be hurting deep inside. She also knew that Janet would be absolutely drenched if she didn't come back inside soon, but she didn't want to interrupt the conversation between Janet and her ex-husband.


	4. Chapter 4

I should be doing work, but I suppose I can go from one to the other quite easily... Thanks to the stargate time traveller for being my first story follower and favouriter (if the latter is actually a word?) I know things might seem a bit slow at first, but I promise the pace is going to pick up pretty quickly! Please review; I'd like to know what you all think? And there'll probably be another update later today. Enjoy :)

* * *

"Janet, we need to talk" Adrian said, sniffling as rain dripped off the end of his nose and he wrapped his coat further around himself.

"Do you want to go inside?" Janet asked, gesturing towards the door.

"No. I need to talk to you in private".

Janet shivered, her arms folded against her chest to protect herself from the icy wind, "Adrian, we're in the middle of the street getting soaked!"

Adrian took Janet's arm, and led her towards an alley. She couldn't help feeling uneasy; it was darker, but dryer at least. Janet leant against the wall, taking the scarf from around her neck and wringing it out, "What is it you want to talk to me about?"

Adrian twisted his hands together nervously. How could he tell her? Was there an easier way of saying it? Probably not.

"You might want to sit down for this" he said, pointing at a pile of old chairs. Janet looked at him curiously. She'd noticed he was nervous. That didn't bode too well.

"I... we... well..."

"Yes?" Janet asked, gently ushering him on.

"I've been talking to Eleanor..."

Eleanor. The very name sent chills up Janet's spine.

"... and we've decided – well I've asked her - if she would marry me..."

Janet's face remained blank.

"And she said yes".

Adrian looked at his ex-wife, desperately trying to read her emotions. He never had been able to see what she was thinking; what her true feelings were. Janet's feelings were mixed at that moment; a strange clash of guilt, jealousy and relief washed over her. He was her ex-husband - of course he could marry someone else if he wanted to… someone else.

"Congratulations" Janet said a little unsteadily, and tried to smile.

"I haven't told the girls yet" he carried on, "I thought me and El would take them out for a meal tomorrow night and tell them then..." he looked up at Janet, "If that's okay with you, of course?"

"Yeah, that's - that's fine. Sure".

Adrian nodded. He came towards her, taking her hand in his own like he had done before, and so many times before that, "Janet-"

He hesitated, looking up into her eyes; dark brown meeting clear blue.

"If you ever need help - with the girls or anything - you will ask won't you?"

Janet smiled weakly. How blind she had been, "Yes".

Adrian let go of her hand, pulling up his collar, "I'll see you tomorrow night then?"

"Yeah" replied Janet, standing up, "Congratulations again".

"Thank you Janet... for understanding" he said, before turning and walking out of the alley and into the rain. It was then she realized that she had truly lost him, like a raindrop in the big wide ocean. She felt alone as sat back down on the old chair, her head in her hands. And she cried.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews once again! Sorry if I've caused any confusion or I make any mistakes as I haven't watched the series for a while - that needs to be rectified... So, I hope you like this next update; it's a bit longer than the previous chapters. Please review and let me know what you think? Pretty please? The next one should be up quite soon. Enjoy :)

* * *

Gill walked into the office. Everyone had calmed down a little now the thunder had stopped, and even the rain was less torrential.

"Rob, can you get everyone into the conference room in ten minutes please?" she asked, before walking towards the room herself. She didn't want to break the news to them - any news but the news that Hastings had escaped, and what was worse…

"Right everyone" Rob called out, "Conference room in ten". He wondered what DCI Murray had found out so suddenly, and why her entire demeanor had changed in so short a space of time. From her tone of voice he could tell that it was quite serious, and she never said _please_. Rachel sauntered over to him, "You know anything about this?"

Rob shook his head, "Nope". And then added, "You seen Janet lately?"

Rachel shrugged, "No, no one's seen her for the last hour almost. Gill said she had seen her come back into the station, but..."

"Janet will need to hear what Gill's got to say" Rob spoke confidentially, "It sounds rather serious. Tell you what, we'll go and look for Janet and then we'll meet back in ten".

Rachel agreed. They went separate ways; she checked their floor and the two floors below while Rob went down to reception. 'This is insane' thought Rachel, 'I could just ring her!' Picking up her phone, she dialed Janet's number. There was no reply. She tried again. Nothing.

"For goodness sake Jan!" Rachel shouted, not meaning to say it out loud. Meanwhile, Rob was having more success. The man on the reception desk said that someone had seen DC Scott around half an hour ago; that she'd bought a box of coffee in and then headed outside again. The rain had died down considerably, and he couldn't spare the time to run and get a coat. Rob ran out, and shivered as he met the icy cold wind. Where could she have gone? He looked down the street, but there was no one he recognized. He looked in the car park. No. The smoking area. No. The off-license across the road. No. Where the heck had she gone?

Rob was about to go inside when he noticed a small entrance a bit further down from the station. It was an alleyway, dark and damp. Why he even considered that Janet could have gone down there was a mystery. He looked at his watch. Three minutes till the meeting.

"Oh, what the heck" he said, walking into the darkness.

.o.0.o.

Rachel looked at the clock on the wall. She had two minutes to get to the conference room. Rob hadn't come back - which meant he either had or hadn't found Janet. Rachel hoped that he had. Sighing, she walked into the conference room where everyone was sitting quietly. Gill was furiously pacing up and down at the end of the room. It was no wonder they had nicknamed her Godzilla! Gill looked up as Rachel walked in.

"Have you seen Rob?" she asked. Rachel shifted uncomfortably, "He err... went to look for Janet. He said he'd be back in ten minutes".

"What do you mean 'went to look for her'?" Gill asked, now standing next to Rachel so that no one would overhear them.

"Well she's not answering her phone, and no one's seen her for ages" Rachel replied.

"I can't start this meeting without him!" Gill said, with a tone of anger in her voice.

.o.0.o.

Rob walked further down the alley, keeping close to the wall. Rain dripped from above; the fractured light creating dancing patterns on the floor. He could hear voices. If he happened upon a situation he did not want to be seen. He could see two figures, and they were arguing - that much was certain. Rob moved forward, attempting to find a better position to hear them from.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I?"

"You _wouldn't!_"

It was definitely two voices, one male and one female.

"You can't run. There's nowhere to hide".

Rob knew he recognized the male voice; cunning and sinister. It made him shudder as he leant further into the shadows. A small scream echoed down the alleyway, and he could hear them struggling. Rob knew he should step in and help – he was a sergeant after all – but then something made him stop. A low voice, barely a whisper, resounded in his ears. He would never forget the words:

"I will _find_ you and I will _kill_ you. Slowly. _Carefully_. You - and your precious daughters".

Rob heard a barely audible gasp escape from the darkness.

"That's a _promise_" the male voice hissed, "Remember that".

Footsteps echoed towards him, and Rob leant back against the brick wall holding his breath. A figure brushed past him, not noticing the man hiding in the shadows. It was quiet now – too quiet. Rob could see the woman still standing there, half cloaked in darkness. He called out, and she turned towards him. He recognized her face at once.

"Janet".

.o.0.o.

It had been eight minutes since the meeting was supposed to have commenced, and Gill was furious. Rob was nowhere to be seen, Janet hadn't been heard from for at least an hour now, and even Mitch was late! What was getting into her team? Rachel had attempted to calm her boss down, but to no avail.

"Gill, please just tell me what's on your mind. It might help you to relax a bit more. You're making us all nervous!"

She looked around the room. Everyone had remained in their seats. Some were waiting quietly, while others were chatting amongst themselves. Pete had taken to reading a book, while Kevin on the other hand had started making things out of blue-tack. He was such a child. Just then the lights came back on. 'Finally!' thought Gill, 'we have power at last'.

"Someone put the kettle on!" Rachel called, making everyone laugh. Gill was about to consider starting without Rob and Janet and Mitch when, without warning, the door swung open and the latter man himself stood in the doorway.

"Ma'am, please come down to reception. It's urgent!"


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Scott and Bailey - unfortunately.

Thank you so much for the reviews again! It really keeps me motivated. I think I know where I'm going with this, and even if I don't it's a lot of fun writing it anyway. There's going to be a lot of twists and turns on the way. Please review and let me know what you think so far? There might be another update later. Enjoy :)

* * *

Rob rushed over to Janet. She was as white as a sheet.

"Janet, are you alright?" he asked. She looked as if she was about to faint. Janet looked up at him, a confused look on her face as she tried to piece everything back together.

"Y-yeah... I... I'm fine" she replied absent-mindedly, although it was apparent that she wasn't.

"Let's get you inside" Rob said gently, turning her towards the alley entrance. Janet shivered, and pulled up the collar of her coat with shaking hands. Rob looked at her fingers, and immediately wished that he hadn't. They were blood red. He took her battered hands in his own. Janet shook her head.

"I'm fine… I-It's fine… I'll sort it out inside" she stuttered, trying to usher him away, but Rob kept a hold of her. The skin was scuffed on the backs of her hands, as if they had been dragged against the surface of a brick wall. In his own they felt like ice, and he couldn't help but notice that a deep shade of blue had set in her fingernails. Blood trickled down her sleeves, thick and dark; Janet winced as his fingers brushed over her knuckles, and he looked up at her pale face. He had to get her inside quickly. Taking her arm, he led her out of the alley and back onto the main street.

Janet shivered again, more violently this time causing her to stumble. Rob put an arm around her waist, supporting her. Janet could feel her legs giving up on her, the numbness in her body setting in like frost on the ground. She didn't want the embarrassment of Rob having to carry her into the station, but no matter how hard she tried she simply couldn't keep herself upright.

Rob looked at Janet. They were only a few minutes away from the station. At this rate he wasn't sure they'd ever get there! He could see her struggling to walk, the confusion in her face and the mist in her eyes. He knew only too well what was happening. Without thinking he swept her up into his arms. She was lighter than he thought she would be. Rob felt the urge to run. He had to get her inside as soon as possible. Janet murmured something, and he saw her eyes starting to close as she drifted off to sleep.

"Stay awake, Janet!" he said, shaking her as he carried her through the rain, "_Please_ just stay awake!"

.o.0.o.

Gill practically jumped out of her seat.

"What's urgent?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"It's DC Scott. Janet. She's... downstairs... with Rob..." Mitch said frantically, trying to catch his breath. Gill looked at Rachel; her eyes were wide with suspense.

"Is she alright?" Gill enquired, walking over to DC Mitchell. He lowered his voice, "No. She isn't". He shook his head, his eyes pleading with her to come downstairs. Gill turned to her colleagues, "Everyone stay calm. I need CCTV from the café, the street, the front of the station. I need someone to find Janet's phone. I need email history, web history, messages. I'll be back in a bit. Rachel, you're with me. Mitch, you're in charge".

With that she signaled to Rachel to follow her, and walked out of the room, leaving everyone but Mitch confused as to why she needed all of those things. Once out of view she turned to Rachel, "I need you to keep a cool head. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am" Rachel replied, noting the obvious tone of fear in Gill's voice.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Scott and Bailey or any of the amazing characters...

Thank you to everyone who's reading this story - I hope you like where it's going? Another update as promised; hopefully there'll be another one tomorrow. Also, I'm not too certain with how a case should be approached so please bare with me on that. However, I hope this is something along the lines of how events would unfold. Please review and let me know what you think? Enjoy :)

* * *

Rob sat on the floor with Janet in his arms. He had almost ran into the station and yelled for the medical team, shouting at the top of his voice. Rob had let Janet down, and thankfully she'd not fallen unconscious, but she was soaked through to the skin. Within moments the medics had come running down the hallway, and they'd carried her through to the sickroom. It was all a blur to him now. Rob had immediately sent for DCI Murray. He knew that she'd be absolutely furious with him for missing the meeting.

He'd seen it before - hypothermia. From his experience he'd known that Janet was progressing from the moderate to severe stage. Rob looked down at her face. She was still conscious, thank goodness, but all of her colour had drained and she was still and quiet. The medics had changed her into some clean clothes and wrapped her in blankets. Rob knew that the easiest and most efficient way to warm someone up was through body heat, and so he had sat down with her. Janet had protested at first, babbling nonsense, but she soon quietened down.

There was a knock on the door, and a nervous looking Gill opened it. She gasped quietly when she saw Janet, and Rachel was in a slight state of panic. They both bent down to her, checking to see if she was awake.

"She's alright for now" said Rob in a calming voice, "She's just in shock".

Gill nodded, swallowing hard. The same sense of dread had rooted itself in her, like before when Janet had been stabbed. She'd tried to stay calm for Janet's sake and for Rachel's. This time however she could feel herself breaking inside; the longing to take Janet in her arms and hold her tight was almosst too much for her to bear.

"May I?" she asked Rob, holding out her arms. Rob smiled, "Of course. I'm sure she'd feel much more comfortable with her friends around her. She hasn't said a word to me".

He carefully lifted Janet, and, supporting her head, let her into Gill's embrace. He knew their friendship was long-standing, but until now he hadn't realized how genuine it really was.

"I'll leave you three alone".

Rachel nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. Just as he was about to walk away, a small voice whispered through the silence:

"Rob?"

He turned to Janet, surprised to hear her voice.

"Yes, Janet?" he asked, gently.

"Thank you".

.o.0.o.

He felt a slight pride at having been confided in by Gill. Nobody else knew yet - knew that Hastings had escaped from prison. It was terrifying news, and he knew they must work quickly if they were to resolve the situation. Mitch hadn't told the team what they were specifically looking for - just anything unusual - for example anyone acting suspicious.

They hadn't managed to get much from the web history. It'd been of no use at all. The CCTV and security on the other hand wasn't much use either. They'd watched all the footage and there was nothing unusual there. Everything that was available had been thoroughly checked. Mitch was starting to get frustrated.

"There must be something!" he cried, flinging his hands up in the air. From the state he had found Janet in, he knew that she couldn't be asked any questions. Whether she knew anything at all was unclear. How anyone could accuse her of something like this was a mystery to Mitch, anyone but Janet. She was the one they could all confide in and trust. She could always calm a situation; talk someone through… and now this. Anyone else he could have considered, but Janet... no. Anyone but her would have ever even thought about helping Geoff Hastings escape from prison.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Scott and Bailey, no matter how much I wish I did.

Thank you to everyone's who following this story and thank you so much for the reviews again! I'm really really excited about this now. Things are going to start speeding up quite quickly. Please review and let me know what you think? It means a lot. Enjoy :)

* * *

Gill held Janet in her arms, vowing never to let anything like this ever happen to her again. It was ridiculous of course, but she couldn't help but feel responsible. She wondered whether there was something perhaps that Janet wasn't telling her. She wondered whether to give her a good scolding, to tell her how stupid she was going out in the rain and giving everyone a fright. The latter of course was unreasonable, and instead Gill kissed the top of Janet's head, hugging her tighter than before. Rachel had made a warm cup of coffee; and was trying to coax Janet into drinking some of it.

"Come on, Jan" she said, "It'll make you feel a little better".

The medics had been in again. 'Just to check she hadn't taken a turn for the worst' they'd said. Her pulse was regular, and her body temperature was nearing normal. That was a good sign, but she wasn't out of danger yet.

"Janet, please just take a sip of it" Rachel pleaded with her friend. She'd had the same feeling she'd had when Janet had been laying in her lap a year ago, her blood everywhere. It was a feeling of hopelessness, and of regret. The feeling that you should have been there when you knew full well there was nothing you could do. She took Janet's hands in her own, carefully placing her white bandaged fingers around the mug. Janet muttered something under her breath.

"What was that, Jan?" Rachel asked, leaning forward.

"I'm sorry" she said.

"What for?"

"For scaring you".

Rachel smiled at her friend, and lifted the cup to her mouth. Janet's hands were shaking, and she felt stupid for assuming that she was capable of doing anything on her own at that moment. Janet took a sip of the coffee, while Gill held her hair out of her face.

"That's a good girl, Janet" Rachel said, mimicking the style of voice a parent would use to talk to their child; grinning from ear to ear. Gill shot her a warning look, and Rachel realised that maybe this wasn't the right time to be funny. But Janet laughed, if a little weakly, and hummed her acknowledgment.

She was so glad they were with her and that the medics hadn't left her on her own. It was strange. She couldn't think straight, and her body wasn't doing what her mind was trying to tell it to. Her fingers shook uncontrollably, and she was glad when Rachel helped her. Gill's voice was quiet and gentle in her ear, saying things like 'she'd always keep her safe' and 'never let things like this happen again'. It wasn't possible, of course. She wished she could hide the tears that brimmed in her eyes. She wished she could forget; forget everything to do with him. She wished she could erase the memory from her mind. But she could never forget his face.

.o.0.o.

Gill went back upstairs, hoping that perhaps her team had found something of use. How Hastings had escaped in the first place was a mystery, but to assume that he had help seemed almost unreasonable. But for someone - who knows who - to accuse Janet of being involved was, to Gill, absurd. Janet hated the man, just about everyone knew that. They had to find answers, and quickly.

She hoped that Mitch had found something from the CCTV. Walking into the office, she found everyone working frantically. Gill thought she'd never seen the office quite so busy.

"Coffee, boss?" asked Kevin, walking towards the kettle.

"Sure" she replied, knowing that she could do with something a lot stronger than coffee! Gill walked over to Rob, asking if they'd found anything.

"Nothing from web history. Nothing from security; but take a look at this" he said as Mitch turned the computer screen towards her.

"It's the CCTV from outside the Station. I don't think you're gonna believe this".

Gill's eyes widened as she recognized the black figure walking a few steps behind from the still shot of Janet.

"Is that?"

"Yep".

.o.0.o.

"Janet?"

"Mmm?"

"What happened to your fingers?"

Janet looked down at her tightly bandaged fingers. There was no feeling in them, and were almost impossible to move. She remembered everything that had happened vividly, but there was no memory of her hurting her fingers.

"I... I don't know" she replied, leaning back, "I don't... remember". She could feel the heat slowly moving back into her body. It was a strange feeling. Rachel had propped her up against a wall, still holding her hands around the mug of coffee that she had made her more than half an hour ago.

Rachel frowned,

"You don't remember anything?"

"I don't remember hurting my fingers" she replied, the words coming out more fluently now.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Janet flinched, trying to keep her expression straight.

"Yes".


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Scott and Bailey :'(

Thank you so much for the reviews and to anyone who's reading this! I hope you like it so far? Things should slowly start to reveal themselves now and in the next few chapters. There's so many things that could happen! Please review and let me know your thoughts? There should be another update tomorrow. Enjoy :)

* * *

"Right" said Gill, raising her voice so that everyone could hear her, "Mitch, I need you to bring him in. Lee, I want records: all his emails, any contacts he's had for the last... say six months. Pete, I want you to head security. I'm gonna go and explain things to Rachel and take Janet home. Rob, you're in charge - call me if there's any developments. Oh, and Kevin, put the kettle on will ya?"

Kevin grimaced. He may as well have been on tea duty permanently.

Gill walked down the stairs, her knuckles white as she gripped onto the rail. Maybe it was best she keep things to herself for now; Janet needn't know until she was fully recovered. Walking into the room where she'd left her two detectives, Gill was happy to find Janet much better.

"I think I'm going to take you home Jan" she said, kneeling down next to her. Janet looked up; a horrified expression on her face, "Oh, no, Gill I've already caused you enough trouble as it is!"

Gill laughed, giving her friend a mock punch, "You? Trouble? _Never!_"

"Gill" Rachel whispered, pulling her boss to one side, "Janet told me what happened in the alleyway - or at least everything she can remember. You're not gonna like it".

"I don't have to like it kid" she said, raising her eyebrows at the thought of it, "If there's anything significant to the case then write it up and make a statement. Rob will fill you in when you get upstairs".

Gill helped Janet to her feet. She was a little shaky at first; having sat down for at least an hour. Linkinh her arm with Janet's, Gill signed them out and walked to her car. It was a quiet journey; neither of them said much. The weather appeared to be brighter; rays of sunshine creeping through the patches in the cloudy sky.

"You alright?" Gill asked, pulling up outside Janet's house.

"Yeah. I'm fine" Janet replied, a sad sort of smile on her face, "Just a bit shaky still that's all". She held up her hand to prove it.

"Do you want a hand with the keys?"

"Would you mind?" Janet asked, "I don't think I could handle picking anything up at the moment".

Smiling, Gill took the keys off her friend, and walked to her front door. The girls wouldn't be in yet, and Dorothy was out. Janet stood behind her, and hesitated, "Gill -"

Gill turned around, the keys half unlocking the door.

"- I need to talk to you... about what happened".

Gill nodded.

.o.0.o.

Janet sat at her kitchen table, while Gill made them both a cup of coffee.

FLASHBACK

_'He made me do it Janet. You've got to believe me!'_

EARLIER FLASHBACK

_'Put the knife down Geoff'_

_'I never wanted to hurt you Janet. I don't want to hurt you'_

_'Put the knife down!'_

END FLASHBACK

Janet put her head in her hands, wincing at the familiar pang of pain in her left side.

"Jan?"

She lifted her head, "Sorry. It just hurts sometimes".

Gill sat down opposite her, placing both coffees on the table. Janet smiled at her choice of coasters - they were Taisie's 'Little Miss' set.

"It'll heal in time" Gill said, softly. She took a sip of her coffee. Should she tell her?

"Janet, I need to tell you something".

On second thoughts maybe she shouldn't tell her; but too late.

"Tell me what?" Janet enquired, carefully lifting her mug. 'This is more difficult than I thought it would be!' she thought as she nearly spilled the coffee.

"Earlier today I got a phone call from DCI Dodson, and she told me that..."

Why were some words so difficult to put into sentences?

"...that... Geoff Hastings..."

Janet looked up at the name; the pain in her side growing at the very mention of it.

"... has... well, he's escaped from prison".

Gill had half expected Janet to drop her mug in shock, but she remained strangely calm. Janet looked down at her hands, breathing steadily.

"You don't seem surprised".

Janet shook her head, "I'm not. I already knew".

Gill felt her heart skip a bit, fighting her doubts back into the shadowy corners of her mind.

"How did you already know?" Gill asked in a quiet voice.

"He told me".

"Who?"

"Andy".

.o.0.o.

Rob sat at the conference table, surrounded by his colleagues. He'd never called a meeting before without Gill, and he felt slightly uneasy about it.

"Mitch, any developments?" he asked. Mitch put down his pen,

"We've brought him in - Andy. He didn't struggle, but he was very reluctant to let us have his phone".

"Lee, pass the print outs will you?" Rob asked DC Broadhurst. Lee handed out the prints.

"These are the still camera shots from the CCTV outside of the police station. A black figure can be seen walking a few minutes away from DC Scott. We recognized him as Andy Roper, and we've brought him in. An interview has been arranged. Rachel -"

Rachel looked up from her notepad.

"Will you do the interview? And Mitch will you go in with her?"

'Me interview Andy Roper?' thought Rachel, 'That could be a disaster! I could kill him for what he's done to Janet!'

"Rachel?"

She hesitated.

"Sure. I'll do it".

"Great. Any updates?"

Pete clicked his pen:

"Security has found a car near the prison where Hastings was being held. It's been abandoned, and it matches Roper's car registration".

Rob nodded, "Follow that up".

"We've also found several emails written in code from an anonymous address on Roper's email history. It appears to match the code that was written in Geoff Hastings' diaries. Are we to presume that Roper has something to do with Hastings' escape?"

Rob nodded, "We have to follow every lead".

"There's another thing" Lee said, speaking up a bit, "We checked the teams email history too, and Janet's also received messages with this code. Does that - well, does that mean she is also a suspect?"

There was silence. Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Yes. It does".

.o.0.o.

The front doorbell rang loudly. Janet groaned. Gill had left around two hours ago, and the girls weren't supposed to be home for another hour yet. She didn't want to move from where she was lying on the sofa, dropping in and out of consciousness.

"Janet?" a voice rang from the hallway, "Janet, are you in?"

It was her mother. Hauling herself up, Janet wrapped the blanket she had been using further around her body, and walked towards the door. Her head pounded, and she went to rub it with her hand, forgetting the bandages that prevented her from doing much with them.

"Rachel rang me. Said you had a bit of trouble at work and had come home early" Dorothy continued, talking to herself as she pottered around the kitchen putting the shopping she had just brought away, "You should have rung me dear".

Janet stood in the doorway to the kitchen watching her mother through blurry eyes. She was so thankful that she'd moved in with them after Adrian... after he left. Leaning against the frame, she closed her eyes momentarily. Upon opening them, she found her mother staring at her in a state of shock.

"What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly alert and awake, running through all the possible scenarios in her head. Dorothy came towards her, and took her hands in her own.

"I didn't think that was what Rachel meant when she said trouble..."

Janet sighed, "Oh, mum. Did she tell you what really happened?"

Dorothy shook her head, and looked up at her daughter. She looked so tired, and so pale. It had only occurred to her recently how important Janet's job was to her, and she understood, but when her daughter's wellbeing was at stake she couldn't cope.

"Will you tell me?"

Janet nodded.

"Do you want a cuppa first?"


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reading this! Your reviews mean a lot to me! This one's the longest chapter yet, and I hope it lives up to your expectations? I'm really enjoying writing this. Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

* * *

Gill sat swiveling in her office chair, staring at the piles of paperwork on her desk, "So that's what we have so far?"

"Yes Ma'am" Rob replied, looking up nervously from his notes. Gill stood up, and looked out of the window.

"So... Hastings has escaped from prison. No trace of his whereabouts -"

"Someone's onto that. It's become a wider investigation now. At least four other syndicates are trying to track him down" Rob interrupted, hoping that this news wouldn't anger DCI Murray any further.

"Good. That's good news. Andy Roper's been caught following Janet down the street. His car has been abandoned near the prison Hastings escaped from. He's received coded emails from an anonymous source. Janet has also received these emails. Am I correct?"

"Yes Ma'am".

"Has anyone decoded the emails?" Gill asked sitting back down in her chair.

"No Ma'am".

"Get someone onto that right away".

"Yes Ma'am" Rob said, standing up to leave the room.

"And Rob -"

He turned to Gill, a serious expression on her face.

"I will do everything in my power to clear Janet's name".

Rob nodded, "You don't believe she had anything to do with it?"

Gill shook her head, and then looked at her Detective Sergeant, "Do you?"

"No".

"Good" Gill replied.

.o.0.o.

_BEEP BEEP!_

Janet looked down at her phone.

'YOU OKAY?'

Janet smiled; it was from Rachel. She tried to pick it up, but there was no way she'd be able to text with the bandages on. Dorothy walked in with a mug of coffee for her daughter, and a cup of tea for herself.

"Mom could you dial Rachel's number for me please?"

Dorothy frowned, "I thought we were going to have a chat?"

"We are" Janet confirmed, "I just need to let her know that I'm okay. She'll be texting me every five minutes otherwise. You know how she is".

Dorothy raised her eyebrows. She didn't half know what Rachel was like, but she put up with her for her daughter's sake at least. She was glad really that Janet had a close friend that she could confide in, even if it was someone as ditsy as Rachel Bailey! Dorothy dialed the number and passed Janet her phone, and watched as she struggled to hold it to her ear. She was about to consider holding it for her, when Rachel answered the phone.

"Hi Rach".

"Janet! Are you okay?"

Janet laughed, waving her other hand in the air as if dismissing any thought of her being otherwise, "Yeah I'm fine. I couldn't text because of my bandages".

"Oh yeah I forgot... sorry".

"It's alright. Is there anything happening to do with Geoff escaping from prison and all that?"

It was quiet on the other end of the phone.

"Rachel?"

"I'm here... I don't think I should tell you over the phone..."

Janet looked up at her mother who was staring at her intently, "Tell me what?"

Rachel sighed, "I really don't think I should tell you over the phone. I'll tell you tomorrow if you're up to work?"

"Yeah, I'll be in tomorrow. It's not serious is it?"

'Serious? Oh, it's serious alright', Rachel thought to herself.

"No not too serious. Call me if you need anything okay?"

Janet nodded, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow".

"Bye Jan".

"Byeee".

Janet put the phone down on the table, and carefully picked up her mug, "Where do you want me to begin?"

.o.0.o.

Rachel looked at her phone. It was 9pm.

"You coming for a pint Rachel?" Kevin asked leaning back from his desk. Oh she'd give anything for a pint! It wasn't the same without Janet though. She would always stay sober, while she drank herself silly.

"Nah thanks" Rachel replied, picking up her bag. She was about to walk out of the office, when she heard Gill's voice.

"You got a minute Rach?"

Rachel turned round, put her bags back on her desk and walked into Gill's office. She sat down in the chair opposite, wondering what she'd done wrong this time.

"Don't worry Rach I'm not going to scold you" Gill said with a look of amusement of her face. Rachel relaxed slightly.

"Janet told me what happened" Gill said, "at least everything she wanted to tell me".

Rachel nodded, "She told me too".

DCI Murray leaned forward in her chair, speaking her words in complete confidence, "Do you think we could compare both to see if she told us anything different? I don't think she did because she notices every detail, but..."

"Yeah, of course".

.o.0.o.

"I went to get coffee for Gill".

"Why?" Dorothy asked, dipping a biscuit in her tea.

"She was infuriated because we had a power cut and I thought that she just needed something to calm her down" Janet replied, now realizing how silly the situation seemed, "I went to the café on the corner and brought ten cups of coffee".

Dorothy looked surprised and wondered how her daughter had possibly managed to carry so many! Janet saw her surprise, and smiled, "Don't worry I managed; the woman behind the counter gave me a box. Anyway I walked back to the station and sent the coffees up to the office. It was then I think I realised my phone was missing".

Janet looked at her phone, confused, "How did I get my phone back?"

.o.0.o.

"So, she went back outside thinking she'd left it in the café?"

Rachel nodded, leaning forward in her chair, "Yeah. She went back outside and bumped into Adrian of all people! Then they both walked down the alleyway and talked".

Gill furrowed her brows, thinking hard, "I wonder why he took her down the alleyway?"

Rachel sat back, "I hadn't thought about that".

.o.0.o.

"So anyway, Ade and I talked for a bit and then he left".

Dorothy brushed the last crumbs of her biscuit off her jumper, "Didn't you go with him?"

Janet looked down at her mug.

"No" she said quietly.

"Janet said she was about to leave the alleyway when someone came towards her - out of the shadows she said" Gill stated, trying to remember exactly what her friend had told her, "And then she recognized him?"

"Yes. And he -" Rachel stopped, hoping that Gill would finish off her sentence.

"He pushed her up against the wall, and threatened her".

Rachel nodded, holding her head in her hands, "I guess that's how she hurt her fingers. She said he'd literally slammed her hands against the brick wall to hold her down. If she'd struggled then her skin would've torn against the surface".

Gill nodded in agreement, "Did she tell you why he threatened her?"

Rachel sighed, "No. She said she couldn't tell me. She said something terrible would happen if she did".

.o.0.o.

"What did he say?"

Janet shook her head, a lump forming in the back of her throat. 'Janet don't you _dare_ cry again, you've done enough crying for one day!'

Dorothy put down her mug, and lifted her daughters face to meet her own, "Janet. What did he say?"

Tears threatened to fall, and she blinked hard to keep them at bay. Looking her mother straight in the eye she spoke the words that had been haunting her for the last few hours:

"He said that if I told anyone what he'd told me, Geoff Hastings would find me and kill me. Me… and Elise and Taisie".


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey.**

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and support. It really does mean a lot! And thank you Natdisneybrown for the constructive criticism :) Another update. Hope you like where I'm taking this? My brain is going into override with all the endless possibilities! Please review and let me know your thoughts? There should be another chapter tomorrow. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rachel opened the door to her car and got in; chucking her bag on the passenger seat. She sat quietly for a while, watching everyone else walk towards the pub. It was best she didn't go with them; otherwise she'd just get drunk. Rachel looked at her watch. 10:45pm. She wondered whether to go and check on Janet. She didn't want to ring in case she was asleep. Besides, Dorothy was probably looking after her.

Looking down at her phone, Rachel suddenly wondered how - if Janet had lost her phone and gone back to the cafe to look for it - how she had got it back again. She was about to dial Janet's number, when her phone began to ring.

_RING RING_

Rachel smiled. It was Janet.

"Hiya".

"Hi mate".

"You alright?" Rachel asked, hoping nothing was wrong.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The girls have just gone to bed. I just wanted to ask you something that's all" Janet replied.

"Go ahead".

"You know when I came back to the station with Rob? Well, did anyone hand my phone into reception?"

Rachel leant against the window, "I was just wondering the same thing. No, no one did as far as I know."

Janet frowned, "I had it when I got home, and when I went out this morning it was in my coat pocket".

"Are you sure it wasn't in your bag?" Rachel asked, thinking through the possibilities.

"I'm certain".

"Or anywhere else?"

"Rach, I am quite sure it was in my pocket!" answered Janet, "I think... maybe..."

She paused, thinking how ridiculous her friend would think she was.

"...I think maybe someone took my phone - without me noticing - and then put it back again".

Rachel scratched her head, a little confused.

"Are you saying you think someone's hacked you?" she asked, sitting back in the seat.

"Perhaps. I don't know".

.o.0.o.

"Janet dear, I'm going to bed" Dorothy whispered, putting her head round the door to the lounge. Janet looked up from her phone, trying desperately to press the 'end call' button, "Okay mum. I'll see you in the morning".

Dorothy walked over to her daughter and kissed her on her forehead. Janet smiled up at her mother.

"Get some sleep".

.o.0.o.

Janet walked into her room. It was 11:30pm. Sitting on the side of her bed, her eyes fell upon the photo of her two daughters. It was a recent one, and they looked so happy. Smiling to herself, Janet went to undo the buttons on her blouse, and then realised it was going to be a big problem.

'Damn' she thought. Creeping down the hallway, she stopped outside her mother's door. Dorothy was already asleep; the snoring was the evidence. Sighing, Janet walked back into her own room. She tried to undo the bandages, but to no avail. She tried to pull them off, cut them off, rip them off; but they would not budge.

11:45pm. Janet sunk down on her bed. She would have to sleep in her clothes. Turning off the light, she lay down under the covers; but every time she closed her eyes, she could see his face, and it wouldn't go away.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey.**

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews and support. It really means a lot to me! All questions will be answered in time; there's a lot more stuff in this story than I bargained for! Please review and let me know what you think? There should be another chapter tomorrow, or rather today as it is past midnight, if not then Monday. Oh, and Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy :)**

* * *

Gill sat on her desk, a warm cup of coffee in her hands. It was 6am, and she was determined to get a head start. Rob would arrive in about fifteen minutes, and no doubt the others would filter in through the door at half past.

_RING RING!_

Gill picked up her phone.

"Morning Slap!" she said, surprised at the cheerfulness in her own voice. Julie groaned down the phone, "Don't you good morning me!"

"What's up?" Gill asked.

"We've found a body".

Gill whistled, "How old?"

"A day or two maybe. Scary Mary hasn't looked at it yet".

Gill smiled at the use of the nickname. They called her scary for a reason.

"Where is it?"

"In the boot of a car" DCI Dodson replied, "A car that I think will be of great interest to you".

Gill rubbed her head, confused. Julie continued, "It's the car that was abandoned near the prison Geoff Hasting escaped. Andy Roper's car to be precise".

.o.0.o.

"Morning Boss!" Rachel called, dumping her bags on her desk with a thud. Today was the day she was going to interview Andy Roper, and she grimaced at the thought of it.

"Morning Rachel" Gill replied, walking over to her desk, "You ready for today?"

Rachel made a face, "Yeah, sure".

.o.0.o.

Rachel looked at her watch. 7am. Everyone was sitting around the conference room table, tired and sleepy, but determined. Gill was sitting at the head of the table talking quietly to Rob, who was making notes. She wondered what this meeting was about. Perhaps there had been some developments?

"I know most of you are still half asleep ladies and gentlemen, but here we go" Gill's voice rang out across the room, "A body's been found. Male, thirty seven years old. Name: Henry Osmond. Security found him at half past ten last night in the boot of Andy Roper's car".

Rachel looked up. Now this was progress.

"Suspected strangulation. DNA has been sent for analysis. Osmond worked for security at Manchester prison, the same prison Geoff Hastings was being held at".

Rachel spoke up, looking down at the many questions she had written on her paper, "Are we to assume that Osmond's death has something to do with Geoff Hasting's escape?"

Gill nodded, "Follow it up. I need CCTV from the prison. I need medical history. Mitch, I want you on house to house, find out if anyone saw anything suspicious last night or the night before. Janet and Rachel, I want you to visit the family".

Rachel looked at Janet, hoping that she'd be in a fit state to do the job.

"I want updates as they come. Keep me informed".

With that Gill closed the meeting.

.o.0.o.

Janet looked out of the car window, watching the city roll by. The Osmond family's house was situated on the outskirts of Manchester near Stockport, and it would take a while to get there. Gill had informed them of the deceased man's family situation: wife and two kids. Janet hated having to tell children that one of - or in some cases both - parents had passed away, but it was part of her job. Janet could feel Rachel's eyes on her, glancing every now and again with a concerned look on her face.

"Rachel would you stop looking at me like that?" she asked, turning to look at her friend. Rachel gripped the steering wheel.

"Sorry" she apologized, "I just..."

Janet shook her head, "I'm fine Rachel. You don't need to worry about me".

.o.0.o.

Rachel pulled up outside the Osmond family's house. It was fairly small, a bit run down in places, but not terribly so. Janet winced as she tried to open the door.

"You changed the bandages?" Rachel asked, noting her friend's hands.

"Yeah. They were so flipping' tight I couldn't do anything!" Janet laughed, finally pushing the car door open and stepping out into the cold autumn air. They walked up to the house, and knocked on the door.

"Janet are you sure you're-"

"Rachel!" Janet said sternly. Rachel held up her hands in surrender, "Alright, alright".

The door opened slowly. A small face peaked round the corner and stared up at the two women. Janet was about to ask the child if her mother was in, when a loud shout could be heard from inside and the kid scuttled away. The door swung wide open. A small blonde woman stood before them, hands on her hips.

"What do you want?" she demanded, her eyes scrutinizing them as they pulled out their ID.

"I'm DC Janet Scott and this is DC Rachel Bailey" Janet replied quite calmly, "May we come in please?"

.o.0.o.

"What's this about then?" Mrs Osmond asked, sitting herself down in a worn-out armchair. Janet sat down next to Rachel, who was trying not to think about what a mess the place was.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this Mrs Osmond, but last night a body was found dead near Manchester prison. We believe the man to be your husband - Henry Osmond".

Mrs Osmond lowered her eyes to the floor, biting her lip subconsciously as she thought about what DC Scott had just told her.

"Are you sure it's him?" she asked, trying to look hopeful. Janet folded her hands in her lap.

"Until he has been formally identified we can't be sure. We will need you to come with us to the station when you're ready to identify the body" Janet explained, watching how the woman opposite her dealt with this information. Mrs Osmond nodded slowly, "What happened to him?"

Rachel leant forward, trying not to show how uncomfortable she was.

"We can't be sure at the moment Mrs Osmond, but when we do find out you will be informed directly".

Rachel smiled at the formality in her voice; she sounded so professional. Janet stood up to leave, when Mrs Osmond jumped up and grabbed Janet's arm.

"He was a good man my Henry" she whispered, her voice shaking, "Everyone loved him".

Janet smiled at the woman, and carefully detached herself from Mrs Osmond's firm grip on her arm.

"I understand" she said in a gentle voice.

.o.0.o.

"You ready to go Rachel?" Gill enquired, walking towards Rachel's desk with a notepad in her hand. Rachel looked at Janet. Why had she said yes to doing this interview? Janet gave Rachel a reassuring smile.

'You'll be fine' she mouthed. Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up her pad, following Gill out of the office and towards the interrogation room where Andy Roper sat waiting inside.


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey.**

**A/N: Thank you so very much for all your reviews and support. It really means a lot! And thank you to everyone who's followed or added to their favourites :) Here's the next update as promised. As this is short, the next chapter should be along quite soon. I apologise in advance for the cliffhanger - I think I surprised myself... Also, Julie will definitely be in it later on too. Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rachel sat opposite Andy, her chair tucked neatly under the desk. He was scowling at her. Deciding to ignore his gaze, Rachel opened her notepad.

"Andy Roper, do you know why you're here?" she asked in as calm a voice as she could muster.

"Yes" he replied through gritted teeth. Rachel looked him in the eye, "Mr Roper for your information this interview is being recorded, and if at any time you want to talk to your solicitor then that's fine".

He nodded.

"Can you tell me what you were doing the night before last - Thursday 16th October".

"I was at home".

"Were you?"

Andy scowled harder, "_Yes_. I was".

Rachel sat back in her chair, her arms folded across her chest, "Okay Mr Roper, what if I told you that your car was found yesterday abandoned near Manchester prison - the prison where Geoff Hastings was being held? What would your reaction be to that?"

Rachel noted Andy shift uncomfortably in his chair, and the slight twitch of his fingers, "I leant it to a friend who worked there a few days ago. He was supposed to bring it back tomorrow".

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "You leant him your car? What for?"

"His had broken down and was being repaired" Andy replied cooly, "He lives at least 15 miles away from the station".

"You must have known him well for you to lend him your car?"

Andy shrugged, "I've known him about six months".

"Andy, what would your reaction be if I told you that a body was found in the boot of your car early this morning?"

Andy looked up at her words, surprise written all over his face, "Who?"

"A Mr Henry Osmond. He worked at the prison".

Andy put his head in his hands, shaking it slowly. Rachel pushed forward a photo of Mr Osmond, "Do you know this man?"

Andy didn't look up, "Yes. He was the man who borrowed my car".

"Okay Andy do you recognize these emails?" Rachel asked, placing the copies of the coded messages on the table. Andy narrowed his eyes, "Yes, I do".

"Do you know who they are from?"

Andy's fingers twitched again, "No".

Mitch passed a piece of paper to Rachel. 'He's hiding something. I think he's lying' it said. Rachel wrote on the paper, and passed it back to Mitch. 'My thoughts exactly' it read.

"Have you ever seen this code before Andy?"

"No".

"This is a code similar to the one found in Geoff Hastings' diaries. What is your relationship with Geoff Hastings Andy?"

Andy's head snapped up, "Nonexistent".

"So you've had no contact with him?

"None at all".

Rachel decided to take a different approach.

"Has anyone else received similar emails with this code?" she asked.

"No one that I know of" Andy replied.

"What if I told you that DC Janet Scott has received emails from the same anonymous source?"

There was silence. Rachel decided to push it a little further, "What is your relationship with DC Scott, Andy?"

Mitch glanced at Rachel. She was treading on dangerous ground, and he could feel the tension between them rising.

"I've known her since training college".

Rachel pushed further, "What is your relationship with her?"

Andy scowled at Rachel, "We're old friends. I see her every now and again, but that's all".

"When did you last see her, Andy?"

He shrugged, "Maybe a few weeks ago?"

Mitch passed Rachel the prints of the CCTV footage. She slid it across the table to Andy, and pointed to the figure in black, "Is this you?"

He didn't reply. Rachel sighed, "Could you tell me where you were between 11am and 12pm yesterday?"

Still no answer.

"Mr Roper, what would your reaction be if I said that you were in fact seen walking a few meters behind DC Scott yesterday morning, and followed her down an alleyway? That you _did_ see her yesterday, although you just told me that you saw her a few weeks ago".

Andy frowned, "No comment".

'This is ridiculous!' Rachel thought.

"What would you say if I told you that we know you did see DC Scott yesterday, and that you threatened her?"

Silence consumed the room, and Andy clamped his mouth shut. Rachel was about to consider pausing the interview - or even terminating it - and pushed herself away from the table, when Andy muttered something under his breath.

"What was that Andy?" she enquired, half way between standing up and sitting down.

"She made me do it" he answered, almost in a whisper. His fingers seemed to twitch uncontrollably as he spoke.

"Made you do what, Andy?" Rachel asked, sitting back down in her chair and placing her hands on the table.

"Help him escape from prison".

Rachel could feel Mitch's eyes on her; the suspense was unbearable.

"Who?"

"Geoff Hastings".

Well, here was a bit of progress. Rachel paused before asking the next question. She wasn't sure she wanted to know that answer to it, "Who made you help Geoff Hastings escape from prison Andy?"

His answer was barely audible, "Janet".

Rachel swallowed; thoughts racing round her mind. She hadn't been expecting this.

"Why did she make you do it?"

Andy looked up at her, his eyes burning with anger, "Because she loves him".


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey.**

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I can't say it enough! And thank you to everyone who's followed or added to their favourites :D Here's the next update. Again, I apologise for that ridiculous cliffhanger! Hopefully, there'll be more interaction between Rachel and Andy later on, and Julie should be in the next chapter. There might be another update later today, or tomorrow. Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

* * *

Janet stood looking blindly at herself in the mirror. The pain in her side was back - more severely than ever. Her bandaged hands gripped the edge of the sink, as she listened to the deafening voices in her mind.

FLASHBACK

_'Why did she make you do it Andy?"_

_"Because she loves him"._

END FLASHBACK

Janet shook her head. Because she _loves_ him?

EARLIER FLASHBACK

_"Thing is, I always thought you had a bit of a thing for that sergeant you introduced me to"._

_"I need you to stay focused, Geoff, on yourself, not on me"._

_"Thought it were odd the way he followed you to that pub, and stared at you. Then he started being nasty to me like he was jealous!"_

EVEN EARLIER FLASHBACK

_"He fancies you"._

_"No he doesn't!"_

_"You can't see it!"_

PREVIOUS FLASHBACK

_"What was his name? Andy?"_

_"We're not talking about any of my colleagues Geoff, or me -"_

_"Andy Roper! Were you... having a fling with him?_

END FLASHBACKS

Janet leant over the sink and bit her lip. The pain in her side flared up, causing her hold on the sink to slip and she struggled to regain her balance as she clutched her stab wound. It was agony.

.o.0.o.

Rachel walked into Gill's office, and put her papers down on the desk. Gill looked up from her computer and took off her glasses.

"He's blaming her!" Rachel said, unable to control the tone of anger that had crept into her voice.

"Who?" Gill asked, not following.

"Andy!" Rachel replied, throwing her hands up in the air, "He's blaming Janet, saying that she made him help Geoff escape from prison!"

Rachel slumped into the chair opposite, holding her head in her hands, "Of all the lies in the world..."

Gill looked across at Rachel, thinking about what she had just said. Just then there was a knock at the door. It was Rob.

"We've just had the DNA in" he said, reading the notes off his clipboard, "The body's definitely Henry Osmond".

Gill nodded, "Good. Get someone to notify his family".

Rob hesitated, "There's been two other DNA samples found on his clothes..."

Two DNA samples?

"One's DS Andy Roper's..."

'Well that's not too surprising' Gill thought.

"... The other is Janet's..."

.o.0.o.

Rachel ran to the loo. She felt sick. More sick than she'd ever felt in her life. Oh how she hated him! She'd never liked him in the first place, but this was just the icing on the cake! Bursting into the room, she stopped dead in her tracks. Forgetting all about her own feelings that moments before had been the only thought occupying her mind, Rachel rushed towards her friend.

"Jan! What happened? What's wrong?" she asked, frantically trying to understand the situation. Janet let out a moan, still clutching her side.

"It's the stupid stab wound again" she said through gritted teeth, "It plays up... every now and again".

Rachel stood beside her colleague and placed a hand over Janet's. She winced.

"Sorry" Rachel apologised, and puffed out air as if letting off steam. At that moment, DCI Murray rushed into the room, swinging the door open with force. Before she could react, Rachel explained what had happened. Gill placed a gentle hand on her friends shoulder.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"Just some painkillers... paracetamol... anything" Janet replied, trying to catch her breath. Gill nodded, and walked out of the room in search of some painkillers.

"I hate him, Rachel".

"Who?" Rachel asked, smoothing out Janet's hair.

"Andy... and Geoff... they're both-" Janet stopped, and wondered just how many words she could use to describe the two men. Rachel laughed to herself.

"Idiots?" she finished. Janet hummed her agreement and smiled. Her breathing was steadier now. She took a deep breath, "You don't believe them do you, Rach?"

Rachel shook her head, "No".

.o.0.o.

Gill walked into the conference room. It was the second meeting she had called that day. Sitting herself down in her usual seat, she waited until everyone had quietened down a little.

"Right everyone!" she called, taking a sip of her coffee, "Here's the latest".

Rob cleared his throat, "The DNA results have come back from the lab. The body is definitely Henry Osmond. Two DNA samples have been found on his clothes, and have been identified".

He glanced at Gill, wondering whether to say whose DNA had been found on the deceased man's clothes. Gill turned to Rachel, "What about the wife?"

"I don't think she had anything to do with it" Rachel said, sharing a knowing look with Janet, "She seems hard and defiant on the outside, but really she's just a struggling - now single - mother with two kids and a rundown house".

Janet nodded, "I agree. She seemed genuinely surprised by her husband's death, but she did say that there was no one who would want to hurt him - that he had no enemies. We can bring her in for questioning of course to find out if she knows anything about her husband's whereabouts on the night he died, but otherwise..."

"Okay. Rachel what about Andy?"

Rachel fidgeted nervously with her pen, "Andy said he knew Henry Osmond. Said he'd known him for about six months. He leant him his car because Osmond's had run down or was being repaired - something like that".

She looked across the table at Mitch, hoping she'd got that correct. Mitch spoke up, "Osmond was supposed to bring Roper's car back tomorrow. Andy did recognize the coded emails, but not who they were from. He also didn't acknowledge that it was him following Janet down the street on the CCTV".

Rachel nodded, "He was silent for a few minutes and wouldn't answer any of my questions. And then he told me that someone had put him up to it".

Rachel looked at Janet, who gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Kevin chewed the end of his pen.

"Who did he say put him up to it?"

Rachel hesitated, "Janet".

Kevin's jaw dropped and the pen fell onto the table. He looked around the room wide eyed, wondering if he was the only one who didn't know about this.

"Kevin, unless you're catching flies please shut your mouth!" Gill said, sternly. Kevin did so.

"At this moment it's Andy's word against Janet's, but I think we all know whose telling fibs... However, we have to follow every lead. I need everyone who was involved with yesterday's events to write up a statement. If we're going to solve this case we're gonna have to work quickly".

Gill glanced at Rachel and Janet. She was glad they'd remained calm, but she knew they were fuming on the inside.

"Pete, any news on Hastings whereabouts?"

Pete sat up, adjusting his glasses, "No Ma'am. We've got several possible leads though that may or may not be useful".

Gill nodded, satisfied with his response, "Right. Get onto that. Take Lee with you. Rachel, I want you to finish that interview with Roper. Get as much information out of him as possible. Mitch, I want CCTV from the prison, anything that suggests whether Hastings had help escaping or not. I'm off to the mortuary to assist DCI Dodson with the post-mortem".

Gill turned to Rob, and lowered her voice to a whisper, "I want you to find out who put Janet's name on the list of suspects. Is that clear?"

"Yes Ma'am".


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey.**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, and to everyone who's followed or added this story to their favourites :D I hope you're still enjoying this as much as I am? Here's the next update, which I grant you is a little short. However, there should be another update later today - I have high hopes for it. Please review and let me know what you think? Feedback is highly appreciated. Enjoy :)**

* * *

"What do we have here then?" Gill asked calmly, clad in her blue overalls with a facemask hanging around her neck. DCI Dodson looked up from where she had been examining the body.

"Hello to you too" she greeted, taking off her latex gloves, "The man's been asphyxiated. Injury on the side of the head suggests he was disarmed before he was murdered".

"Show me" Gill said simply, walking towards the slab the body lay on. 'Asphyxiated? I wonder...' she thought, moving closer, "Hastings' victims were always asphyxiated, but this seems almost messy…"

Julie pointed to a bloodied spot on the back of his head, "No long term damage, just some bruising. Ripped the skin though whatever it was".

Gill looked up, "So the murderer hit him. Man was disoriented; confused. Murderer disarmed him, and then asphyxiated him?"

Julie nodded, "Plain and simple. I suppose you've heard about the DNA results?"

Gill bit her lip nervously, "Yes".

"You know that there's enough evidence for them both to be arrested?" Julie stated, watching as her friend shifted uncomfortably. Gill shook her head.

"I won't arrest my own constable" she said quietly, eyes fixed on the dead man's body. Julie smiled a little, knowing how protective Gill was of her team, "What happened to anybody's capable of murder?"

Gill shot her a look, eyes glaring, "Not Janet. Andy - it's debatable - but not Janet. I don't think so".

Julie shrugged, "It's not up for debate, Gill. I've got the search warrants for both of their houses, and my team will be arresting them in the morning".

Gill sighed angrily, "I'm gonna kill whoever put Janet's name on that suspect list!"

Julie patted her friends' shoulder, "Maybe I should put you on the suspects list. Whoever's on the receiving end of your anger had better watch out!"

.o.0.o.

Rachel sat at her desk twirling in her chair. The interview with Andy had gone terribly, and she hadn't succeeded in getting any more information out of him; he just kept saying 'no comment'. She wondered whether he was still angry at Janet, whether he could have possibly set all this up himself. She wondered whether Geoff Hastings was using Andy to get what he wanted. The only thing these two people had in common was in fact Janet, and yet she didn't have contact with either of them.

"You gonna come to the pub, Jan?" she asked, looking at her watch. It was 8:30pm. Janet looked up from her computer screen, and took off her black thick-rimmed glasses.

"I dunno" she replied, "I should really get back home. The girls wanted a takeaway and I said I'd be home by eight. I'm surprised they haven't rung actually".

Janet picked up her phone, but she'd received nothing, "Just let me finish this email, and then I'll be off".

Rachel came round the desk and stood behind Janet.

"Is this about the coded emails?" she asked intrigued by the funny looking symbols and numbers.

"Yeah" Janet replied sleepily, "I've sent copies to several people, you know like university lecturers and specialists, but no one's found anything of significance. I'm starting to think it's just a prank..."

Rachel laughed. 'If only', she thought.

Janet clicked the send button, and shut down the computer. She smiled at Rachel as she put on her coat, still struggling with her fingers as she tried to do the buttons up.

"Do they still hurt?" Rachel enquired, picking up her own belongings and walking down the stairs after her friend.

"Sometimes, but not much. I was thinking about taking the bandages off tomorrow" Janet replied, "Sorry I can't come to the pub with you mate".

Rachel shrugged, "It's fine. I'll see you tomorrow then".


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey.**

**A/N: Thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews! And to everyone else who's followed or added this story to their favourites :D Here's the next update as promised. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it? And I might just apologise for the dreadful cliffhanger in advance... Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

**_IMPORTANT NOTICE: _Unfortuantely I won't be updating this story until about Tuesday next week because I'm going on a Gold Duke of Edinburugh Training weekend from today until Sunday. I do apologise, but to make up for it I'm posting the longest chapter I've written yet.**

* * *

She knew something was wrong the moment she stepped onto the front path. In the yellow tinged light, from the street lamps, she could see the long scratches in the door paint, and the shattered glass of the window. The frame was chipped where it had been kicked in, and several smears of blood decorated the dull white paint. Janet took a deep breath. It was quiet; too quiet. The door was open slightly, but already she could see that objects had been thrown everywhere.

Putting down her bag, Janet wished she had her police wear with her. She had been trained for almost every situation, but the breaking in of her own house... She knew she should phone for the police directly, that she should stay outside.

_BEEP BEEP!_

Janet nearly leapt out of her skin as her phone went off in her pocket, and her heart skipped a beat when she read the words:

'MUM! HELP! GRANDMA'S GONE OUT AND SOMEONE'S BROKEN INTO OUR HOUSE, WE THINK HE'S STILL HERE. ME AND TAISIE ARE HIDING IN OUR BEDROOM. PLEASE HURRY! ELISE X'

'Damn!' Janet thought. Slowly she pushed the front door open, hoping it wouldn't creak. Things were strewn all over the floor: photographs, clothes, books... Breathing in and out as quietly as she could, Janet tip-toed her way through the hallway.

_CRASH!_

She stopped dead in her tracks. Someone was still here. None of the lights were on so she kept one hand on the wall. Janet strained her eyes; she could see something moving in the shadows. The shadow came closer, and she pressed herself into the wall praying it hadn't seen her. Shallow breaths echoed through the kitchen, followed by the clattering of cutlery falling. Trying to stay calm, Janet felt for the first step of the staircase.

It creaked.

Swallowing hard, she took off her shoes and walked as quietly as she could up the stairs to where her daughters were hiding. As she reached the top, she heard footsteps behind her. Holding her breath, Janet hid behind the banister out of the reach of the light coming in from the street. The footsteps came closer, and not long after did he.

A figure clothed in black stood at the foot of the staircase, staring into the blackness. Janet couldn't see his face, and she didn't dare go any closer. The figure put a foot on the bottom step. She placed a hand over her mouth lest she should make a noise. He stood there, staring at her directly, his face as black as the night sky. Janet couldn't breathe; the ability to inhale air forgotten. The figure made to go up the stairs, and then - as suddenly as he had appeared - he went back towards the kitchen.

Janet let out a low shaky breath, releasing her grip on the rail. Turning around, she crawled up the next flight of stairs before standing back on her feet. She could still hear movements downstairs. Placing a hand on the door, Janet stepped inside her daughter's room.

"Elise?" she whispered as loud as she dared, "Elise where are you?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Janet saw the wardrobe door open; small fingers clutching onto the side.

"Mum? Is that you?" a tearful voice whispered into the darkness. Janet crept towards the door, and opened it further. She could have almost laughed at the two faces that looked up at her, squashed into the small space of the wardrobe.

"I'm here" Janet said gently, holding out her hands. Taisie threw herself into her mother's arms, holding onto her as if for dear life.

"We thought he'd got you" she said. Janet stroked her daughter's hair, hugging her close. She was about to consider finding something to defend herself with and going downstairs to confront the intruder when they heard the first footstep.

"He's on the stairs!" Elise whispered, gripping Janet's arm. Before she could say anything, Elise had hauled her into the wardrobe and shut the door behind her. Taisie began to cry.

"We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're all dead!" she wept loudly. Janet pulled Taisie into an embrace, trying to muffle her sounds in her shoulder. Elise scooted closer to her mother, "I sent Dad a text too. What if he sees _him_?"

The footsteps came closer, and the bedroom door creaked open. Janet held her breath. She could feel Elise staring at her, the painful grip of her fingers digging into her arm. The footsteps came across the room towards them, and Janet promised herself that if the worst were to happen she would at least save her two daughters. Taisie clutched Janet's coat, begging her not to let go.

"I love you" Janet whispered, before the door swung open.

.o.0.o.

Gill lay flat out on the sofa, a glass of red wine in her hand- it was the second bottle she had opened. She'd lost track of time a while ago, her mind clouded with the fog that usually accompanied drunkenness. Her phone rang.

"Hello, Gill speaking" she said, her words slurring together.

"Hi Gill" a tired voice spoke down the line. It was Julie.

"What do you want?" Gill snapped, downing the rest of the dark red liquid.

"I wanted to apologize".

"For what?"

Julie sighed. Gill was almost always drunk whenever she rang of an evening; if not she was getting close.

"If you think that I make light of having to arrest members of your team then think again".

Gill sat up, listening properly to what Julie was saying, "So you don't agree?"

Julie scoffed, "Of course not! You may know Janet more than I do, but I personally don't believe her capable of anything like this. So what we found her DNA on the dead man's clothes, and she's received some coded emails, and Andy's blaming it all on her, but we have no hard evidence!".

Gill let out a sigh of relief.

"She's not in the clear though" Julie spoke quietly.

"I know" Gill replied, looking into her glass and wondering where all the wine had gone, "but I intend to get her out of this".

"I know".

.o.0.o.

A blinding bright light filled the small space. Janet put up her free hand to cover her eyes, blinking wildly as she tried to focus. Her vision blurred, and she couldn't make out the strange figure towering over them. She could hear voices, none of them familiar, until Elise's voice rang in her ears.

"Dad!"

The shock of her words hit Janet, making her jump and hit her head off one of the shelves. Elise ran towards her father, speaking words at a speed that no one could understand, babbling nonsense. Taisie cried even louder, screaming that they were all going to die.

"It's okay Ellie, it's okay. You're safe now".

Janet felt Taisie's body being lifted off her own, before being pulled to her feet. Rubbing her head, her eyes began to focus.

"You alright Janet?"

Janet looked up and met her ex-husband's gaze. The room seemed to spin out of control, and she struggled to keep her balance, "I err... yes. Yes I'm alright".

She felt Adrian place a hand on her shoulder, steadying her.

"Did you see who it was?"

Janet shook her head, her chest heaving as she tried to regain a normal breathing pattern, "No... No I didn't. His face was... it was blacked out".

Adrian nodded, and placed his arm around her shoulders, "Let's get you three downstairs".

Janet followed her ex-husband out of the room, feeling strangely secure in his arms.

.o.0.o.

Janet stood outside, her hands trembling as she dialed Gill's number. It was only half nine, but knowing Gill it was likely that she'd brought herself a bottle or two and got drunk. It had gotten colder outside, the warm autumn air quickly turning into icy winter. She heard the phone start to ring, and almost wished that Gill wouldn't answer. Perhaps she was over-reacting? Perhaps what her daughters had said wasn't true? Perhaps they were just in shock?

"Hiya".

"Gill?"

"Hi Janet what's up?"

"I... My house was broken into earlier this evening..."

Gill sat up, alert and awake after having fallen asleep on the sofa again, "Are you alright? And the girls?"

Janet nodded, laughing nervously, "Yes, we're all fine..."

"You don't sound too sure?"

"I'm not".

Gill walked into her kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.

"Was anything stolen?" she asked, thinking things through in her mind.

"I don't know" Janet replied.

'She sounds shaken' Gill thought, 'If it was just a burglary she'd be fine'.

"Did you see anything?"

There was silence.

"... there was someone inside... when I got back... the girls were hiding in their bedroom, and I had to make sure they were alright. I didn't see who it was... but they did".

Gill raised her eyebrows, "Who was it?"

Janet took a deep breath, "They said it was Geoff Hastings..."


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: Hello, I am back! What a crazy weekend! Anyway, here is the next update as promised. It is a little short, but there will be another chapter up later today. Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews! It made me so happy when I got home :) And thank you to everyone reading and following this! Over 1,000 views! I have changed the rating to a T just in case...? So, please read and please review, and as always: enjoy :)**

* * *

"What did she say?" Adrian enquired as his ex-wife entered the sitting-room. Janet had forgotten that Adrian had meant to come round to pick the girls up. He had planned to take them out for a meal –with his fiancé – and break the news to them. Janet looked down at her daughters; mugs in hand, snuggled up on the sofa. Elise and Taisie didn't look up from drinking the hot chocolate their mother had made them. They didn't say anything, and were silent.

"She said that she'd be round in the morning with the team. We should be left in peace until then" Janet replied, sitting down next to her youngest daughter. Taisie wrapped her arms around her mother, burying her face in her hair. It was unusual for either of her daughters to show any form of affection. Janet kissed the top of her head, and she began to cry.

"Darling, what's wrong?" she whispered softly as Taisie cried. Taisie shook her head wildly, her sobs racking her body, "I thought... I thought you..."

Elise looked up at Janet, her face screwed up as she tried not to cry, "We thought you were dead... we thought he'd got you again..."

Tears slipped out of the corners of Elise's eyes, and she wiped them away furiously. Since her dad had walked out she'd felt responsible. She had a younger sister to look after, a mother and a grandmother. She'd tried to be grown-up, to be calm. She'd tried to build up walls around herself to make her feel invincible; but as she looked up at her mother those walls came crashing down, and the frightened little girl inside was all that was left.

"Oh Elise" Janet sighed, as the older girl shifted over to her and wrapped her arms around her, crying uncontrollably. Janet held her girls in her arms, "I don't think anything bad could happen to me as long as I have you two".

Janet could feel Adrian watching her; watching her every move, listening to her every word. They quietened down a little, their grip on her loosening as they tried to pull themselves together. Janet rested her head on top of Taisie's, "I love you both so very much, and I will never ever leave you".

Taisie lifted her head slowly, "Do you promise?"

Janet smiled and kissed the top of her head, knowing that no matter what happened she would never abandon her children of her own free will, "I promise".

.o.0.o.

"Are they asleep?" Adrian asked, putting down his cup of tea on the table. Janet walked into the room tiredly, almost falling onto the sofa.

"Yes they're fine. I just hope they don't have nightmares" she replied honestly, not looking him in the eye. It was quiet for several moments. They'd made so many happy memories in that room, and yet so many bad ones. Adrian leant forward, clearing his throat, "Janet-"

She met his gaze hesitantly, almost afraid of looking into his eyes.

"I just want you to know..." He struggled to find his words, unsure of how to tell her his thoughts, "... that I love them too".

Janet smiled wearily, "I know".

"I just... if you need me to do anything I will. I don't want you to have to go through this on your own."

Janet looked at her ex-husband. What was he trying to say? She nodded, her throat dry with the words she spoke, "Thank you".

Adrian gazed at her. She was so clever, so beautiful, and so calm and brave... but he couldn't forgive her for what she'd done. Not just yet.

"I should be going" he said, rising from the chair he'd been sitting in, "What time does your mum get back?"

Janet stood up shakily, "Err... half ten I think. Elise said she'd gone out to visit a friend".

Adrian nodded.

"Get some sleep" he said, stepping forward and kissing her on the forehead, "Just phone me if you need anything".

And with that he left, leaving her to the empty silence that followed.


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: Here is the next update as promised. Thank you for the reviews! They mean so much! And thank you to everyone who is reading and following this! Hopefully this chapter will live up to your expectations; I very much enjoyed writing it. Things should start to come together now, but it's far from the end so don't panick... unless you're getting bored of this, but I hope you're not :) Anyway, please review and let me know what you think? There should be another update tomorrow. Enjoy :)**

* * *

It was 6am. Rob checked his watch. DCI Murray wasn't in yet - which was unusual. Normally she'd be here at about half 5, if not earlier. She was never late for anything. He was about to consider calling her to make sure she was alright, when the lady herself walked into the room.

"Goodness, you're an early bird today!" she stated, walking towards her office with the usual cup of coffee in her hand. Rob smiled - she was a little hung-over.

"Morning, Ma'am. Any news?"

Gill put her things down on her desk and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

"DCI Dodson will be arresting Andy Roper and Janet Scott this morning" she replied quietly. Rob stood frozen to the spot just inside the door, unsure of what to think.

"I don't want anyone else knowing about it" Gill continued matter-of-factly, "not just yet".

Rob nodded, respecting her decision to keep things under wraps, and moved carefully into her office, "Mitch found some CCTV footage yesterday while you were at the mortuary. It's from the prison. We think we have clear evidence that Geoff Hastings had help in escaping".

Gill looked up at her sergeant, "That's good news. If you don't mind I'll watch it later. I have a few things I want to go over first".

Rob smiled a little half-heartedly, and went to go out of the room before turning to his boss, "We will get her out of this".

Gill glanced at Rob, unconvinced by his words but grateful for them, "I know we will".

.o.0.o.

It was 7:30am - although the clock on the wall was ten minutes slow. Taisie and Elise had left for school, and Janet was hurriedly packing her bag for work. Usually she'd be in the office by at least seven, but the girls had insisted on her eating breakfast with them.

"Are you sure you're alright for today?" Dorothy asked, still feeling guilty that she'd gone out the previous evening. Janet looked up at her mother and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine".

Dorothy however wasn't convinced. When she'd arrived back at the house last night, she'd found Janet in a state of distress - yet after a good night's rest she did appear to be feeling much better.

"You've taken the bandages off?" she queried, remembering that her daughter had asked her about removing them. Janet nodded; holding out her hands. Dorothy grimaced when she saw them. Last time she'd changed them they were just swollen, but now the swelling had gone down she could see much much more. The skin was torn in several places, the knuckles swollen and red, and the backs of her hands were almost completely shredded. Dorothy attempted not to fuss, but the sight of Janet's fingers was enough to set her motherly instincts in motion.

"Oh Janet!" she cried aghast.

"They'll heal mum" Janet said reassuringly. Dorothy shook her head in disbelief. Her daughter's fingers were mottled with black and blue bruises. The skin was scuffed, and at least three layers of skin had been torn away. She could see the bone beneath the remaining layers of skin, and she was glad that there was at least some left!

"Mum, it's fine! Don't fuss!" Janet laughed, pulling her hands away and going back to packing her bag. She knew her hands were shaking terribly, but she wouldn't be defeated by them.

"Don't they hurt?" Dorothy asked tentatively. Janet sighed and smiled at her mother, "Yes they do, but honestly I can manage".

Dorothy nodded, deciding to leave her daughter be. She was an adult now after all, and could take care of herself.

_DING DONG_

Janet looked at her watch.

"I wonder who that could be?" she asked. Dorothy shrugged, "I have no idea, love. No one's visiting as far as I know".

Janet picked up her bag, and walked towards the door.

"I'll just get this and then I'll be off mum" she called. Janet wasn't quite prepared for what was to come upon opening her front door.

.o.0.o.

Rachel sat staring across her desk at Janet's seat. It was empty. There were only a few occasions where Janet had actually been late for work. It wasn't like her at all.

"Oi Bailey!" a voice shouted across the office, snapping Rachel out of her thoughts, "You gonna come to the pub after today? You didn't the other night".

Rachel looked up at Kevin, who was now standing in front of her, "It depends..."

"On what?" Kevin asked playfully.

"On whether everything is sorted out today, well - not everything - but whether we make any progress" she replied. It was sort of the truth.

"Oooh, are we actually focused on work for a change?" he mocked.

"Shut it Kevin!" Rachel snapped. Kevin pretended to jump and walked like a schoolboy who'd received a scolding back to his chair. 'So immature' she thought. Lee suddenly burst through the door and ran to Gill's office, "Boss!"

Gill looked shocked at the intrusion into her office without a knock, and then realised that it must be something important, "Yes Lee?"

"I er... well we've just had the results back from the scans on Janet's phone" he explained, handing her the papers that confirmed his words, "It looks like she's been hacked for the last two weeks at least!"

'Thank goodness!' Gill thought, 'Now we can really get moving'. She sat up in her seat, "That's good news Lee, thank you".

Lee nodded and walked happily out of the room. There was a knock at the door.

"Rachel? Come in, come in" Gill beckoned, seeing the younger woman standing hesitantly by the door. 'That's odd. Usually she comes bounding in all enthusiastic like with not even a thought of knocking the door!'

Rachel sat down in the chair, feeling rather nervous.

"Do you know where Janet is?" she asked. Gill fiddled with the glasses that lay on her desk. It would appear DCI Dodson preferred to do her work early in the morning. She shook her head, "I'm not entirely sure kid".

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "That would indicate that you have an idea where she _might_ be".

Gill glanced at Rachel's disheartened expression.

"Don't you get practicing your interview skills on me missy!" she said in an attempt to make her smile, "Now off with you - I need to get some work done!"

Rachel nodded and walked out of the room.

.o.0.o.

Janet sat alone in the interrogation room. Although she would never admit it to anyone, she was frightened out of her wits. 'I wonder if Gill knows about this?' she thought, 'or Rachel?' She hadn't expected two police officers to arrive at her door earlier that morning, and arrest her on suspicion of conspiracy to aid a fugitive and the possible suspicion of murder! 'Murder'. The word sent chills down her spine every time she heard it - and she'd heard it a lot in the last twenty years.

The door opened and two men stepped inside. Janet guessed they were part of DCI Dodson's team, as that was undoubtedly who was having to deal with the situation. They sat down at the desk opposite her. It was an odd feeling being the suspect, and she didn't like it.

"DC Scott?" the older officer asked, opening his file.

"Yes" she confirmed, hoping her voice would retain the usual calmness it had.

"May I call you Janet?"

She nodded. The man looked down at the papers, and then leaned back in his chair, "My name is Sergeant Davis. You already know why you're here, but I need to tell you that this interview is being recorded".

Janet half expected him to say 'and if at any point you need to talk to your solicitor then that's fine' - until she realised that she didn't have one. Janet clasped her hands together nervously, although she didn't know what she was nervous about; after all they wouldn't find anything would they? She was innocent – as far as she knew.

"Can you tell me where you were on the evening of Thursday 16th October?" Sergeant Davis asked inquisitively. Janet smiled as she remembered.

"I was at home" she replied. He nodded, "What were you doing?"

Janet began to relax a little, "I was baking cakes – with my daughters Taisie and Elise. We stayed in all night and watched a movie".

"All night?" the officer enquired.

"Yes - all night".

A note was passed to Sergeant Davis' assistant from the officer sitting next to him, but he disregarded it. Janet was unable to tell whether that was a good or bad sign. A photograph was pushed across the table towards her – it was a still of CCTV footage from the night of Geoff Hastings' escape; although a little blurred.

"Do you recognize anyone?" the man asked, folding his arms across his chest. Janet looked closely at the photo, unable to see very well without her glasses. Two of the men she recognized yes – their faces were forever in her dreams; imprinted on her mind.

"Yes" she replied quietly, "One is Andy Roper, the other is Geoff Hastings. I'm not sure about the other two though".

The officer leaned forward, pointing with a single finger to the figure in black. It was a woman, hooded with blonde hair. She was small, with a pale face and looked strangely familiar. Janet shook her head, "I don't know who that is".

"Really? You don't recognize yourself?"

Janet's head snapped up, an uncomfortable feeling settling in her stomach.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to conceal the tone of apprehension in her voice.

.o.0.o.

It wasn't possible. Surely this wasn't possible? Pete closed his eyes, unable to believe the information his senses were telling him_. It's not true_. He opened his eyes. It was.

"It does look a lot like her".

"That doesn't mean that it is".

Kevin leant forward over Pete's chair. It _did_ look a lot like her; small frame, blonde hair.

"Come on Pete who else could it be?"

'I don't know' Pete thought to himself. Kevin squinted at the CCTV, leaving fingerprints on the screen. He traced the outlines of the four suspects.

"Hastings… Roper…" he said quietly to himself, "… and – hang on a minute that's Osmond".

Kevin turned the screen towards Pete, pointing a frantic finger at the figure, "Look, its Henry Osmond!"

Pete put his glasses back on, "Well I'll be…"


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: Here is the next update! Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews! And thank you to everyone who is reading and following this! I am so sorry I didn't upload anything yesterday, work is piling up and it's getting quite ridiculous... but anyway, please review and let me know your thoughts? There should be another update later today or tomorrow. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Gill stood at the head of the conference table, exchanging a nervous glance with Rob. He gave her a half-reassuring smile, and she cleared her throat.

"Listen up everyone I have important news!"

Gill had that type of voice that when used in a large room could gain the attention of everyone in it. Immediately there was silence.

"I'm afraid it's not good news".

There was a considerable drop in the numbers of hopes that had been raised. Rachel tapped her pen impatiently. It had been a long day without Jan for company, and she felt as if her insanity was getting the better of her.

"Early this morning, DCI Dodson arrested Andy Roper and DC Janet Scott on suspicion of aiding a fugitive and the possible murder of Henry Osmond. They are currently being held for further questioning, but we have been informed that they will both be released on police bail this evening".

Rachel dropped her pen and stared at Gill. Why had she not told her? A number of confused and shocked faces glanced around the room, and an unnerving silence followed. Rob fiddled with his tie, feeling slightly claustrophobic, "There is more news however. Some CCTV footage has been found of the inside of Manchester Prison. Four figures are shown walking down one of the corridors. Two of these we have identified as Geoff Hastings and Andy Roper, the other…"

Rob gestured to Kevin.

"The other is Henry Osmond – the man found in the boot of Andy Ropers' car. The last person – a woman – looks a lot like… well she looks like Janet".

A number of gasps were heard resounding around the room. 'Janet? No. _What?'_

"It doesn't look that much like her" Pete contributed quietly. Kevin scoffed, "It does! Not everyone's perfect Pete!"

Rachel shot Kevin a warning look, barely comprehending what on earth was happening. Gill shifted in her chair, "What makes you think that it's Janet, Kevin?"

"Well she's small, and although she has a hood on we can see that she has blonde hair – it's the same shade as Janet's".

Gill folded her arms, "And that's it?"

"Yeah" Kevin replied, quite proud of his contribution to the case. A glance at Rachel's expression told him that he was about to be scolded once again.

"That's hardly enough evidence Kevin!" Gill reprimanded, "We need solid proof to convict someone of murder and as it stands we have no hard evidence that any of these three persons were involved in the murder of Henry Osmond".

Kevin shrunk back in his chair, "Yes Ma'am".

.o.0.o.

"Oi Bailey! Are you comin' to the pub tonight?" Kevin called, as he threw paper planes across the office. Gill was in a meeting; otherwise he wouldn't have dared do something so childish. He _was_ a child in some people's eyes. Rachel pursed her lips, "Mmm… maybe?"

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Awww, come on Bailey. You know you wanna".

A paper plane flew past Rachel's head, but she didn't take a blind bit of notice. She was angry with Gill for not telling her about Janet's arrest. She was angry that Gill had confided in Rob and not her.

"What's got into you?"

Rachel looked up to see Kevin leaning over her desk; a playful smile on his face. How could anyone be so cheerful about the news they had just received? She frowned; a deep line of frustration appearing on her forehead.

"It'll be just you and me", Kevin whispered seriously. Just you and me? What was he implying?

"I'll buy. You won't have to worry about a thing", he smiled. Rachel hesitated, "Is it a date?"

Kevin laughed, "If you want it to be! I just thought you might need some cheering up is all!"

Well, what the heck – it was only Kevin after all.

.o.0.o.

6pm. Gill told everyone they could go home – get a good night sleep. 'Yeah right!' Rachel thought to herself, 'I haven't had a decent night's sleep in ages!'

_BEEP BEEP!_

Rachel jumped at the sound of her phone. It was Janet.

'HEY RACH. DO YOU THINK YOU COULD PICK ME UP FROM THE STATION? X'

Thank God they'd released her on police bail! Rachel remembered how she'd felt when they'd arrested her, and it was not a nice experience.

'YEAH SURE. YOU OKAY? X' she replied quickly, picking up her bag and coat and racing out if the door. Kevin grabbed her by the arm, "Hey where're you going? I thought we were going to the pub?"

Rachel shrugged him off, "We are going. I'm just gonna pick Janet up from the station. I'll be there at seven alright?"

"Oh. Alright then".

Kevin turned away, a little unsure whether Rachel would turn up at seven. Knowing Rachel, she'd probably forget all about it. What was he thinking? She was way out of his league! And yet, when he looked at her, she made him happy.

Rachel raced down the stairs, almost forgetting to sign out.

_BEEP BEEP!_

'I'M FINE. HOW ARE YOU? X'

Janet always was one for sarcasm.

'I'LL BE THERE IN FIVE X'

.o.0.o.

Janet shivered, wrapping her scarf further around her neck. The dark nights were setting in, the cool autumn air turning into the icy winds of winter. The sky was lit with glistening stars, yet tonight they didn't seem so bright. Janet let out a shaky breath. Being arrested took a lot out of you; it made you anxious and jumpy. The slightest noise and she was on edge. She couldn't seem to stop worrying.

'Come on Rach. Where are you?'

Rachel's car came flying around the corner, and Janet thought for one horrible moment that she might swerve off the road. Rachel pulled up outside the station, and ran across to her friend.

"Jan, are you alright?" she asked, noting how pale she looked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Janet replied, not wanting any fuss. Rachel wasn't convinced. She knew what Janet was going through; she of all people should know.

"Rachel, I'm fine – you don't need to mollycoddle me!" Janet laughed slightly, trying to free herself from her friend's firm grip on her arms.

"You're sure?"

Janet stopped struggling, and looked up at Rachel. She wondered when this carefree girl had become so serious, so mature even. Her voice was laced with anxiety, and Janet knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her calm exterior up much longer. Rachel's eyes were full of concern as she gazed at her friend, noticing the dark lines under her eyes and the slight quiver of her lips. Janet lowered her eyes, and stared at the floor, "I…"

When had she lost the ability to stay strong? Why couldn't she just keep her chin up and carry on as usual? Janet tried to pull away from Rachel, but she kept a hold of her, "I can't-"

She shook her head. It was no good. Rachel saw the tears forming in her friends eyes. She hated it when Janet cried. She didn't quite know what to do; how to comfort her, how to make the tears go away. Janet did. She'd always been there for her.

"Oh, Jan…" Rachel whispered, pulling her friend into her embrace.


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! And thank you to everyone who is reading and following this! I know this is a little short compared to previous chapters, but I hope you enjoy it all the same? In my mind, Adrian is so much nicer in this story than in the T.V. series so yeah... Please review and let me know what you think? Enjoy :)**

**_IMPORTANT NOTICE:_ _Once again I am going on a D of E weekend training expedition, which means I won't be back until Monday :( However, the next chapter is almost finished so I shall be able to post that either Monday evening or Tuesday. Sorry again about the wait._**

* * *

Kevin stared down at the empty beer can in his hand. What if she didn't come? The room span slightly as he moved out of his seat and went to buy himself another beer. Maybe she would come? Kevin frowned as he checked his watch. 7.30pm.

"Alright mate?"

A hand on his shoulder; he turned. A single pair of shimmering brown eyes met his, the soft smile that had so often greeted him widening, "Bet you didn't think I'd come!"

She sat down next to him on the bar stool. She was here. She hadn't forgotten. Kevin smiled at her, "What d'yer fancy?"

Rachel titled her head.

"Ooh. Red wine for me please" she replied, taking off her coat. Kevin ordered the drink; the excited butterflies in his stomach dancing.

"So how was Janet?" he asked carefully, as he handed her the glass of wine. Rachel's smile immediately faded, "She's alright I suppose…"

Kevin nodded. Janet was strong – most people knew that – and she was always there if you needed to talk to someone. She always listened, never judged or mocked. It made him wonder who she confided in when she needed to talk to someone. Gill? Rachel?

"Kevin are you even listening to me?"

"Oh sorry I just… What were you saying?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Kevin you are terrible!"

Kevin felt a bit awkward, but he could see the laughter in her eyes.

"So… how do you intend to cheer me up?"

Kevin froze, "What?"

"You said earlier that I needed cheering up. So how do you intend to do it?"

Kevin put down his beer. How could he… what should he…?

"I just thought a night out would do you some good. You know, have a chat, a drink… perhaps a dance?"

Rachel laughed, "A dance? You're so funny Kevin!"

"What? Why not?"

"Kevin have you seen me dance?"

He thought for a moment, "Nope"

Rachel passed her hand over her head, "Good! I'm terrible at it!"

Kevin smiled to himself. He had actually seen her dance. It had been at Rachel's birthday party last year. They'd all been so happy; everyone laughing, making jokes, and drinking themselves silly. Rachel had got slightly drunk and hauled Janet to her feet. He'd stood in the corner of the room watching them dance together, making right fools of themselves… but they didn't care. She wasn't such a bad dancer, and it was as he watched her laughing and dancing with Janet just how much he loved her.

.o.0.o.

"Janet?"

She didn't look up from her warm mug of coffee. She hadn't heard him. The world seemed to be spinning out of control, her grip on reality fading away.

"Jan?"

What was it she was feeling? Anger? Regret? Despair even? Adrian touched his ex-wife on the shoulder, making her jump. He only just caught her mug of coffee in time.

"Sorry" he said. Janet sighed and put her head in her hands. He'd scared the life out of her doing that, but she didn't want him to know. Adrian sat opposite her at the kitchen table.

"I came over this afternoon" he explained, "Dorothy told me what happened and asked if I could bring the girls home from school. I hope that's okay?"

Janet smiled, "Thank you"

Adrian placed his hand over hers, "You're welcome".

They sat staring into one another's eyes for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Janet –"

"Yes?"

"I… I know now that walking out on you wasn't the right thing to do. You needed help and I never listened…"

Janet put her hand on top of Adrian's, and he winced when he saw the backs of them – the scars from a few days previous not yet fully healed.

"…Will you forgive me Jan?"

He'd never apologised first. Sometimes he wouldn't apologise at all. What had brought on this sudden change of heart?

"Adrian I forgave you a long time ago" Janet replied quietly, "You've got little to be sorry for. You don't deserve what I did to you…"

Adrian sighed, "No, Jan. I drove you away. I didn't listen; I wasn't there to help you. It's not your fault".

"How is it _not_ my fault?"

"Perhaps we _both_ had a hand in it then?" Adrian winked, wanting neither of them to take the full blame.

"Will you forgive me, Adrian? I know… I know I don't deserve it, but I can't stand this tension between us…"

Adrian took her face in his hands, wiping away the threatening tears, "I already forgave you".


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: Hello, I;m back again! Finally the next update is here! Thank you for the reviews once again! And thank you to everyone who is following this! Quite a lot happens in this chapter as I apologise if something doesn't add up - please tell me if that happens? Anyway, I hope you like it. There should be another update relatively soon :) Please review and let me know what you think? Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Good morning everyone!" DCI Murray called as she strode into the office. There was a mumble of replies.

"We're all happy birds this morning, aren't we?" she muttered to herself, as she unlocked her office door. Rachel leaned across her desk to Janet, "Why's she in such a good mood?"

Janet shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine".

"Janet?" Gill's voice called across the room. Janet rolled her eyes, making Rachel laugh as she got up and walked into Gill's room, shutting the door behind her. Gill sat at her desk, a rather troubled expression written on her face.

"You alright, kid?" she asked, gesturing for Janet to take a seat.

"I've been better" she replied truthfully as she sat down opposite her friend. She wondered whether Gill would want her to take time off and keep her out of the case now that she was a suspect. Janet wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Janet. I know you didn't do this" Gill spoke quietly, "and because of that I'm gonna keep you on the case. I know I shouldn't, but I trust you so…"

Janet couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her lips, as a shaky hand went to brush her hair out of her face. Gill gazed at her friend for a while. She was unnerved; that was certain.

"Thanks Gill".

Janet went to leave the room, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

"You know I'm here if you need to talk" Gill said quite firmly, not letting go of her friends arm until she was quite sure that she'd got the message. Janet smiled, and nodded. Gill gave her shoulder a squeeze before returning to her desk. It was unlike Gill to become emotional in the office, sure she got angry sometimes, but for her to show any kind of affection was unusual.

.o.0.o.

"What was that all about?" Rachel asked as soon as Janet sat back down at her desk, worried that Gill wouldn't let her stay on the case. Janet saw her fears.

"It's alright I'm not going anywhere!" she laughed a little half-heartedly, "She just wanted to make sure I was okay".

Rachel heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness for that!" she said, half-jokingly as she stood up and walked past Janet to the photocopier, "What would I do without you?"

Janet smiled, "What indeed?"

.o.0.o.

"I can't believe we have to go back to that horrible house!" Rachel complained as she stared out of the car window. It gave her the creeps.

"We won't be there long, Rach" Janet reassured, glancing at her friend before returning her eyes to the road in front.

"Two minutes is long enough!" Rachel huffed as they pulled up outside the house. Janet turned to face her, mirth sparkling in her eyes, "Just be civil, alright?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and winked at her colleague before getting out of the car and walking up the front drive.

.o.0.o.

"Is there anything you can tell us about your husband's whereabouts the night he died, Mrs Osmond?"

Mrs Osmond looked hesitantly at her daughter, who had decided to seat herself on Janet's lap. Janet had tried to take her into another room, but she kept running back again. In the end, Mrs Osmond had decided to let her stay; she was after all only three and didn't really understand what was going on.

"He was at the prison on duty" she replied, "His shift didn't end until two in the morning".

Rachel nodded taking down notes in her mental notebook, "Did you and your husband have any arguments Mrs Osmond - any misunderstandings at all?"

Mrs Osmond looked a little confused, wondering why that question was relevant.

"Mrs Osmond, we need to know whether anyone held any grudges against your husband" Janet offered gently, as she tried to detangle the girl's small fingers from her hair.

"He did have a disagreement with someone. Andy his name was".

Rachel risked a quick glance at Janet, "Was that Andy Roper by any chance, Mrs Osmond?"

"Yes" she replied, a surprised look on her face, "How did you-?"

"Your husband borrowed Andy Ropers car did he not?"

"Yes he did. It was very kind of Andy to let him borrow it".

Rachel noted the softness in Mrs Osmond's voice when she spoke Andy's name. It seemed... odd.

"Did you ever meet Andy Roper, Mrs Osmond?" Rachel enquired.

"Once or twice… maybe three times… I'm not sure…"

"What was your relationship with him?"

Mrs Osmond looked up sharply, "My relationship with him?"

"Did you know him well?" Janet asked, removing the little girl's fingers from her coat lest she should pull all of the buttons off. Mrs Osmond looked down at the floor, a flash of guilt in her eyes, "I er… We did know each other quite well… but we… it didn't…"

"What happened Mrs Osmond?" Rachel enquired, hoping her voice wouldn't betray her anticipation. Mrs Osmond looked up at her, glancing nervously at her daughter, "We had a bit of a fling… but it wasn't right; it wasn't fair on Henry, so I called it off. It was never serious between us".

Rachel nodded, and encouraged her to continue.

"Andy… well he was angry, really angry. He threatened me, threatened to tell Henry, everyone I worked with… and then he just disappeared…"

"Disappeared?" Rachel questioned.

"I didn't see him for three weeks – until the day Henry died…"

.o.0.o.

Gill couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Say it again, Rachel. Slowly this time"

Rachel made a face at Janet. How many times must she relay this information to her boss?

"Mrs Osmond says that she went out with Andy for a few weeks. Got that?"

Gill raised her eyebrows, "I'm not an idiot, Rachel!"

"She said she didn't feel it was right; said it wasn't fair on Henry, so she called it off", Rachel continued, glancing quickly at Janet, "Andy got angry, threatened to tell Henry about it, then he disappeared"

"Disappeared?" Gill interrupted, now extremely interested in the information Rachel was telling her, "What do you mean disappeared?"

"Well, I suppose she meant she had no contact with him? But here's the thing: Mrs Osmond says she didn't see him until the night of Henry's death. I think he had a motive. I think Andy killed Henry Osmond because she split up with him".

Gill thought for a moment, "It's a possibility, but why would he help Geoff Hastings out of jail if he was after Henry Osmond?"

"I don't know Boss" Rachel replied honestly, "I don't know".

.o.0.o.

Mitch looked at the scans. He looked at them again. He wasn't making it up; they were there. They were there on the phone. His fingerprints were all over Janet's phone. Somehow this was beginning to make sense – but they still didn't have all the information they needed.

"Kevin!" Mitch shouted as a paper plane narrowly missed his eye. Kevin laughed childishly and ran around the corner and out of sight. 'I'd better show this Gill' he thought, walking towards the office. Everyone immediately sat down at their desks, hidden smiles on their faces.

"What?" Mitch asked, wondering what prank they'd played on him this time. Moving slowly towards his desk he saw a piece of paper with a drawing on it. He smirked; it was terrible! Mitch put down the scans and picked up the paper. The drawing was of him – well he supposed it was him – being hit in the eye by a paper plane.

"You know you didn't actually hit me?" he said to Kevin, turning around and pointing to the picture.

"Who hit you?"

Mitch froze. It was Gill.

"Nobody hit me. That's what I said".

Gill didn't look convinced, and glared at Kevin who immediately started working again. Mitch hurried after Gill as she sat down in her office chair. He shut the door behind him.

"Boss, I need to show you these!" he said seriously, spreading the scans out over her desk. Gill looked up at him. It was unusual for Mitch to come straight in without an invitation.

"I take it this is something serious?" she asked, putting her red-rimmed glasses on. Gill stared down at the scans, blinking several times to make sure that she was reading them correctly.

"Andy stole Janet's phone?"

Mitch nodded, "It would appear so Boss. His fingerprints are all over it".

Gill leaned back in her chair. First Andy has a fling with Henry Osmond's wife, now he steals Janet's phone. 'Why?' she wondered, pressing the dial button for DCI Dodson's number.


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: The next update is here! Thank you so much for all the reviews! And thank you to everyone who is still following this! It means a lot to me! This may seems a little extreme for some characters, in that I may have overstretched their personalities, but I think it works, and I hope you like it? There should be another update later today or tomorrow :) Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Do you wanna go out for a drink tonight?" Rachel asked as she walked arm in arm with Janet into the office.

"Yeah. I could do with a drink!" Janet laughed, "But I can't stay for long".

"Just stay long enough to stop me from getting myself hammered!" Rachel winked as Janet sat down at her desk.

"I'll buy, alright?" Rachel asked, dumping her bags on the floor and glancing back up at Janet. To her surprise, a shadow of anger and hurt passed across her friend's face, and she immediately knew that a storm was coming.

"Jan, what's wrong?" she queried nervously. Janet didn't look up; she was too busy staring at the note on her desk. Rachel watched silently as Janet got up from the desk and walked over to Kevin, whose face immediately dropped and looked incredibly guilty.

"Very funny, Kevin" Janet muttered, dropping the note on his desk and walking away. Kevin jumped from his seat, and caught her by the arm, not wanting anyone to know what he'd done, "Janet, it was just a joke!"

Janet glared at him, and shook his arm off,

"You call that a joke, Kevin?" she half shouted, trying to control the anger in her voice. Everyone turned to look. Kevin tried to keep his grip on Janet, not wanting to make a scene.

"Get off!" Janet objected, trying to escape from his grasp, but he only held onto her tighter. Rachel picked up the note from Kevin's desk, and opened it. It read:

'Love you Babes. Geoff. X'

Rachel glowered at Kevin. The stupid idiot!

"Kevin, let go of me!" Janet insisted, as Rachel pulled him away. Kevin wondered whether to run and hide, but all he could see were Janet's saddened eyes staring at him.

"What the hell's going on?" a voice thundered across the office.

Rachel's hand froze on Kevin's shoulder as everyone turned to look at the owner of the voice that had just silenced the entire room. Rob stood near Kevin's desk, the note crumpled in his fist, anger flickering in his eyes. Janet stood rooted to the spot, her eyes still fixed on Kevin. He wished he could melt into the floor, he wished he could disappear; anything to take away the pain he had caused in those clear blue eyes. Why did he do it? Why couldn't he have thought before he acted?

"I-"

Kevin shut his mouth abruptly. It would do no good to try to explain. Rob walked towards him; his mouth a thin line of disgust.

"You're a brainless idiot!" he spoke quietly, his tone of voice low and dangerous. Kevin started to panic. What if Gill found out? What if he lost his job? What if-? Rob grabbed Kevin by his collar roughly, barely able to keep his fists away from his face.

"Are you really so heartless; so completely pitiless? You're a moron, Kevin!"

Robs voice began to get louder. He felt like punching Kevin in the face. He felt like kicking him, like chucking him across the room, like breaking his nose… A small hand placed itself on his arm, gently pulling his hands away from Kevin. He turned to see Janet staring at him, silently begging him not to do anything stupid. Reluctantly, Rob let go of Kevin, who slunk back to his seat. Rachel smacked him over the head, nowhere near as hard as she'd have liked too.

"You alright?" Rob whispered as soon as everyone had returned to their work. Janet nodded, trying desperately to regulate her heartbeat. Placing a hand on his chest, Janet's thankful eyes met his for a moment before she walked silently out of the office.


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: Thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews! And thank you to everyone who is following and reading this! I hope you like this next update - it took me a while... Anyway, things may start to speed up more (and also might get a little bit confusing) but hey. There should be another update tomorrow :) Please review and let me know what you think? Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rachel looked despondently at her empty wine glass – it had been the fourth one that evening. She turned it upside down, hoping that there might just be one last dribble.

"Bother! Its empty" she said a little glumly, "How many have I had?"

Janet sat opposite her, wine glass in hand. She didn't usually drink wine, but tonight she needed it.

"Four" she replied, watching Rachel closely. It didn't take much for her friend to get drunk, and when she did she was a nightmare – although she did have random spurts of genius now and then.

"Oh! I thought I'd had more!" Rachel smiled happily, "In that case…"

Rachel stood up from the table and wobbled slightly, holding onto Janet's shoulder.

"Rach…"

"Oh! Please Jan? Just one more?" Rachel begged, making puppy eyes at her friend. Janet laughed, "No, it's not that. I just-"

Janet bit her lip.

"It's nothing. It doesn't matter" she said, putting on a smile, "Go get yourself another glass, but anymore and you'll be complaining in the morning!"

Rachel sat back down hesitantly.

"You alright?" she asked quietly, noticing the troubled expression on her friend's tired face. Janet opened her mouth to speak when a bag was suddenly dropped on the table and a rather angry looking Gill pulled up a chair.

"Mind if I join you?"

Rachel and Janet shared a surprised glance, watching as Gill thundered off to the bar.

"Well, I hope it's not me she's angry at!" Rachel whispered to Janet. Gill came back and sat down at the table, spilling some of her wine as she did so.

"Evening ladies!" she said, quite loudly, before taking a swig of the red liquid. Rachel looked at Janet. Was she drunk? What were they supposed to do with her?

"Gill, are you okay?" Janet asked in a soft voice. Gill glared at her angrily, and then sighed.

"Sorry. I'm just a bit angry…" Gill apologized, noticing her two detectives relax slightly, "Well - I say a bit – I'm extremely angry!"

Rachel urged Janet to keep talking. It was always best for Janet to make conversation with Gill in these sorts of situations; anyone else and Godzilla would emerge, reveal her claws and roar at them!

"Why are you angry, Gill?" enquired Janet, as Gill took another swig of wine. At this rate she'd be drunk within the hour.

"I'm angry because…" Gill looked around to make sure no one was listening and then beckoned her two friends closer, "I'm angry because DCI Dodson rang earlier. Someone has managed to get a hold of some of Geoff Hastings' diaries and is leaking confidential information to the press!"

"Blimey!" Rachel exclaimed, speaking everyone's thoughts. She looked at Janet, noticing how she didn't seem that surprised.

"Are they going to publish the info they've got?" Rachel asked, her empty wine glass now forgotten.

"They've contacted the Chief Con saying they've got the diary" Gill replied peevishly, "and unless the police are willing to buy the information off them-"

_BEEP BEEP!_

Janet jumped slightly at the sound of her phone, and took it out of her bag.

"Unless they get the money they want" Gill continued, "they're gonna publish tomorrow. It'll be all over the news and we'll get absolutely slated!"

Rachel sat back in her chair, wondering who could have possibly got hold of the diary.

"They'll have to pay them of course – we can't afford for confidential info to be spread over the media! Hopefully there'll be no mention of it tomorrow…"

Rachel turned to look at Janet, who was frowning at her phone screen, "You got your phone back?"

"Yeah, Mitch gave me it this afternoon".

"Everything alright Jan?" Gill asked as she downed the rest of her wine. Janet passed her phone to Rachel, shaking her head, "It's another message".

"Who from?" Gill asked, peering over Rachel's shoulder.

"I don't know".

They recognised the message immediately. It was written in code; the same code found in Geoff Hastings' diaries.

.o.0.o.

_BEEP BEEP!_

Gill groaned. Surely it was too early to get up?

_BEEP BEEP!_

Who invented alarms anyway?

_BEEP BEEP!_

"Alright, alright!" Gill shouted clambering out of bed and slamming her hand down on the alarm clock. There was silence. Gill sat still for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the brightness of the room. It was only 5am. Her head was pounding from the wine she had drunk the previous evening. She didn't know how she'd managed to get home.

_RING RING!_

"Arghh, what now?!" Gill groaned, throwing everything everywhere as she tried to find her phone. Leaning over the bed she finally found it – it was stuffed in one of her slippers!

"Hello-?"

"Don't listen to him!" a voice warned. Gill sat up straight. She knew this voice; somewhere in the back of her mind she knew it.

"Sorry, who is this?"

"You've gotta believe me! Don't listen to him, he's lying!"

Gill rubbed her head. Who's lying?

"Who is this?"

"Don't let him hurt her… please don't let him hurt her!"

"Hurt who?" Gill almost shouted, desperate for some sort of information. The phone went dead. What on earth was going on?


	24. Chapter 24

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott and Bailey**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and all your support! It means a lot to me! Sorry about that last cliff hanger... Hope you like where this story is going? It is a bit short, but hopefully the next chapter will be longer. There should be another update soon :) Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rob chewed on the end of his pen – a habit he had unintentionally developed to keep his mind off things. It was like an escape from stress… or at least the best one he had at that moment. He didn't know why he worried about her so much. He liked her, that much was certain, but nothing more. They were good friends, and every time she smiled the whole world seemed so much brighter. Yet when she was sad, everything was blue.

"Something on your mind, Rob?"

Rob jumped at the sudden intrusion, his thoughts scattered like leaves in the breeze. Gill was standing over his desk, a smirk on her face. 'Or perhaps someone?' she thought, glancing towards Janet's desk.

"I er… no. Nothing" he replied. Gill shook her head amusedly and signalled for Rob to follow her into her office.

"Has anyone managed to crack that code yet?" DCI Murray enquired as she sat down in her chair. Rob shut the door behind him, "No, Ma'am. We're still working on that".

.o.0.o.

"Janet?" Rachel started hesitantly, "What was it you were going to ask me last night?"

Janet looked up from her work. Last night?

"Before Gill came I mean".

Oh. _That_ question. Janet bit her lip, "I was going to ask you… how you managed…"

Rachel furrowed her brow.

"How you kept things together when you were arrested?" Janet continued, "What happened with your brother and everything?"

Rachel walked round and sat on Janet's desk, swinging her legs as she tried to explain.

"I didn't really" she whispered honestly, "I mean, I didn't manage at all. I cried almost every night! I was a complete wreck!"

Janet smiled empathetically, "Do you ever stop worrying?"

Rachel looked down at her friend, seeing the same sort of hopelessness that she herself had experienced.

"It goes away eventually. Besides you've got me to cheer you up!" Rachel laughed, flicking her friend's nose like she always did. Janet gazed at Rachel. She was blessed with such a good friend.

.o.0.o.

DCI Murray tapped her fingers on the computer keyboard irritably, gazing at her mobile. Why hadn't Julie called? Had they made no progress at all? None of the other syndicates had been in touch either, and so Geoff Hastings was once again a mystery to them all.

_RING RING!_

It was DCI Dodson. 'Finally!' Gill thought as she eagerly answered the call.

"Hiya, Slap!" Gill greeted with her usual enthusiasm.

"Hi Gill" Julie replied.

"What's up?"

Julie sighed. This was not going to be easy.

"Do you mind if I come over – now? I think you need to hear what I've got to say in person".

Gill frowned, fiddling with a pen nervously.

"Is it serious?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't anything too bad. Julie hesitated, "You're probably not gonna like it".


	25. Chapter 25

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey, or any of its characters.**

**Authors Note: Thank you _so much_ for all your reviews and support so far! It means a heck of a lot to me! Here's the next update as promised. I'm really glad that everyone's still enjoying it. I admit it's hard to keep up a standard what with so many chapters, but I promise the story won't go on forever. I have a few more up my sleeves ;) As always please review and let me know your thoughts. There'll be another chapter soon. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Dorothy stood at the front door watching the team of policemen leave. It had been the second time they'd searched the house that week. Closing the door she turned to face the hallway, thankful that they'd left the place tidy. She hadn't however been expecting them to find anything. Dorothy quickly dialled her daughter's number.

_RING RING!_

"Hello?"

"Janet, it's me".

"Oh, hi mum!" Janet greeted, shooing away Rachel who was pretending to listen in with a wide grin on her face. Dorothy smiled; she was glad to hear the cheerfulness in her daughter's voice... it made her wish she hadn't phoned.

"Is everything alright?" Janet asked; an undertone of anxiety in her seemingly calm voice. Dorothy waved her hand in the air, "No, no, everything's fine… well almost…"

"What's wrong?"

Dorothy hesitated, "The police have been by again".

"Oh?"

"They've found something".

Dorothy cringed in the silence that followed, waiting for her daughter's reaction. Rachel watched as Janet's face dropped like a stone into the depths of the sea, sinking into oblivion. Janet swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice calm, "What did they find, mum?"

Dorothy closed her eyes, knowing she would regret what she was about to say, "They found one of Geoff Hastings' diaries… in the kitchen…"

Janet froze, and her heart seemed to stop in her chest. The whole world was spinning, and all she wanted to do was get off. Her mother's voice faded away, and she stared hopelessly at the floor…

"Janet? Are you alright?" Dorothy half shouted down the phone, "I'm sorry I shouldn't' have-"

Janet put a hand to her head, wishing she could wipe away the dreadful scenarios her mind was forming, "No mum, it's fine, I'm glad you called me. I'll call you later, okay?"

Dorothy sighed, "Alright love. I'll see you later".

"Bye mum".

.o.0.o.

Gill stared at Julie. No. It wasn't true. It_ couldn't_ be true! Julie shook her head, trying to ignore her friend's eyes boring into her.

"I'm sorry, Gill. There's nothing I can do" she apologized, knowing that sorry would never be enough. Gill looked like she was going to throw something at her when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Gill called in an irritated voice. A nervous looking Janet put her head around the door, "Can I come in? I need to talk to you".

"So do I" Gill replied, glaring across at Julie, "Or rather DCI Dodson needs to".

Janet looked at Julie, knowing what was to follow. DCI Dodson gestured for her to sit down, and closed the door behind her.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news" she said in an almost patronizing voice. Janet nodded, "I know. My mum just phoned".

"So you know about the diaries then?"

"Yes".

"Do you realise how that makes you look?"

Janet looked at Gill. She knew how it made her look. She knew what would happen if they couldn't prove her innocence. In Janet's mind she was innocent, and yet not many people seemed to believe her, "It makes it look like I'm in league with Geoff Hastings, and that I'm the idiot leaking information to the press".

"And are you?" Julie enquired, sitting on the edge of Gill's desk. Janet shook her head in horror, "Of course not!"

DCI Dodson sighed heavily, ignoring the enraged look on Gill's face. She leaned towards Janet, "I won't embarrass you by arresting you in front of everyone, so if you'd like to come quietly and follow me to the station…?"

Julie opened the door for Janet. All the weight in the world seemed to fall on her shoulders as she walked to her desk and picked up her coat. Rachel stood up, watching DCI Dodson follow Janet out of the office. Gill walked over to her, almost at a loss for words.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, although she already knew the answer.

.o.0.o.

It was a different officer this time – DC Bradley. He wasn't as friendly as Sergeant Davis had been. Janet decided that she immediately didn't like him, but she knew if she was uncooperative it wouldn't help the situation at all. His face was stern; his eyes dark and penetrating. Janet struggled to keep calm and professional under his scrutinizing gaze.

"Did you know about the Geoff Hastings' diaries ,DC Scott?" DC Bradley asked. There was no informality in their conversation.

"Yes, I did", Janet replied, keeping her hands folded in her lap in an attempt to resist the urge to bite her nails, "I worked on the case with DCI Murray".

"How well did you know Geoff Hastings? Were you close?" His voice was intimidating, yet somehow there was a hint of respect – although his manner was quite the opposite.

"I was a friend of his sisters' – Veronica Hastings. She was murdered" Janet replied, sighing a little, "I knew him for a short while, and then we found out that he was the murderer…"

DC Bradley nodded, "And have you had any contact with him since?"

"Well, I interviewed him in an attempt to find out more about the serial killings, but since then – no, I haven't".

Dc Bradley wrote something in his notebook, "So, it wasn't him you saw at your house – when it was broken into, I mean?"

"I didn't see who it was" Janet answered truthfully, "His face was blacked out".

"I see" DC Bradley said, his tone of voice unconvinced. He took a small piece of crumpled paper out of his briefcase, and pushed it towards her, "Can you tell me what this is, DC Scott?"

Janet picked up the piece of paper. The writing was scribbled and rushed, but its message was loud and clear. It read:

'You dare tell'

"Can you tell me what this message means?" DC Bradley enquired, his voice low and distrustful, "I suppose it's for you?"

Janet swallowed. She knew whose handwriting it was… and she knew very well what it meant.


	26. Chapter 26

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey :(  
**

**Authors Note: Thank you _SO UNBELIEVABLY MUCH_ for all of your reviews and support so far! Here's the next chapter! Getting quite excited now, and hoping the tension is still running high. It's a little longer, and I apologise for the cliffhangers that keep appearing - I almost fell off my chair after writing this one! Julie will come back into the story later on, and Hastings might make an appearance soon... maybe ;) Please review and let me know what you think? Enjoy :)**

* * *

"So, Andy, can you tell me about Henry Osmond?" Rachel questioned, sitting upright in her seat. Her mind couldn't help wondering; drifting down the long lane of 'what if?'

"What about him?"

He was being impossible. Rachel could feel herself getting wound up, the tension causing her fingers to tighten around the pen she was holding, "Did you see him often?"

"Perhaps once a week - I don't know" Andy replied, a smug grin on his face. Rachel felt like slapping him – but of course that was out of the question.

"Did you ever go round to his house?" she enquired, sensing his unease as she asked this. If she pushed far enough his walls of protection would come tumbling down, but too far too quickly and they would only become stronger. Andy shrugged, "Perhaps…"

"Did you know Mrs Osmond?"

"A little" Andy scowled. He knew her game. He knew she would attempt to retrieve every piece of information he carried with her clever skills. But he was cleverer… much cleverer…

"Can you tell me about your relationship with Mrs Osmond, Andy?" Rachel prodded. His fingers twitched, and his mouth clamped shut - too far too quickly. Rachel glanced across at Mitch; he nodded. Picking the photo out of her folder, Rachel passed Andy the still of CCTV that had recently caused so many disturbances. She leaned back in her seat, waiting for his response. Rachel was surprised to see him at ease, not a flash of concern crossing his face, "Can you identify the persons in this photograph, Andy?"

"That's Henry" he shrugged, pointing his finger at the figure in the foreground, "His shift ended around two the next morning".

Rachel made a note in her book. That fact did at least tie in with the information Mrs Osmond had given her, "Do you recognise anyone else?"

"Well, that's Geoff Hastings of course!" he said loudly, rolling his eyes and bringing his finger down on the photograph with force, his anger evident in his voice. He looked closely at the image, "Oh, yes. That's me just there… and that's… well, that's Janet".

.o.0.o.

"DC Scott, can you tell me why your DNA has been found on the body of Henry Osmond even though you have said that you've never met him before and were nowhere near the scene at the time?" DS Bradley enquired, the edges of his lips twisted up in a slight smile like he knew that the web he was spinning would soon trick the woman opposite him, and cause her to make a mistake. Janet felt like a rat near a trap, "I honestly don't know".

DS Bradley sighed exasperatedly, as Janet moved a hand to sweep the hair back from her face.

"Can you tell me how you hurt your hands?" DS Bradley frowned. She nodded, "I was threatened –"

"Oh?"

"We had a bit of a struggle, and my hands were injured in the process" Janet replied, keeping her voice as calm as she could.

"Who exactly were you struggling with?" DS Bradley asked, his eyebrows raised with increasing interest. This case seemed to be getting more complex by the minute! Janet hesitated, passing her thumb over the scuffed skin of her knuckles, "Andy Roper".

.o.0.o.

"Can you tell me what you and DC Scott, as you suppose, were doing at Manchester Prison on the evening of Thursday 16th October?" Rachel enquired, waiting for the trail of fabrications that would reel off his lying tongue.

"She was obsessed you know" Andy started, "She just had to get him out… couldn't stand him being in there. She made me help her!"

Rachel tried not to roll her eyes. She hoped that Andy would soon trip up over his own lies and fall flat on his face. He was clever however, but she knew that she was much cleverer.

"Why did you help her Andy?" Rachel queried, cocking her head to one side. He shrugged. No answer.

.o.0.o.

"I _can't._ I can't say why!"

DS Bradley looked at Janet's distressed face in surprise, unsure whether to believe her words. He felt sorry for her in a way, like deep down her knew she might be innocent, but the evidence collected so far proved otherwise, "Why can't you say why? We're both on the same team, you know".

Janet looked up at his words, a flicker of light in the storm that was brewing. Perhaps he wasn't quite what he appeared to be, perhaps somewhere beneath that stone cold mask was a good heart?

"You don't _know_ why he threatened me" Janet emphasised, "and I can't tell you what he told me because of the threat he made!"

DS Bradley shook his head. Perhaps he should proceed gently? He looked across at the constable opposite him, the alarm in her eyes causing him concern, "Janet, we need to know why he threatened you. No one is going to harm you, I promise".

He wasn't sure why he had said that, but she did at least seem to relax slightly.

"If he finds out I've told you…" Janet trailed off, shaking her head as she tried to block out the thoughts that penetrated her mind constantly, "… he'll kill me. He said he'd kill me, and my daughters too".

DS Bradley leaned forward in his chair, holding her frightened gaze, "No one will find out".

Janet knew his game. He was being gentle so she would relax and tell him everything. It was one of her own techniques for goodness sake, but at least this was proof that it worked! Janet looked around nervously, her voice barely a whisper, "He told me – Andy told me - that he had come across some information. It was highly confidential, and had never been fully understood… He said he had sold it to the media and he had given them the means to understand it".

DS Bradley couldn't help the underlying tone of anticipation in his voice, "What did he sell?"

Janet looked him in the eye, knowing that her daughters' lives depended on the words that she spoke, "One of Geoff Hastings' diaries".


	27. Chapter 27

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Thank you so much once again for all the reviews! They mean a lot to me! This chapter is a little short, but hopefully there'll be another update later today, if not tomorrow. Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rachel was beginning to lose her temper, but she knew that – given the circumstances – she couldn't afford to. Andy was answering hardly any of the questions that she fired at him, and all he would comment on was how Janet had planned the entire thing and helped Geoff Hastings escape from prison. She decided to try one last question about the information leaks, "Do you know anything about the information that has been released to the press?"

Rachel noticed Andy's' fingers twitch. It was almost like a nervous twitch. Perhaps it happened when he told a lie - when he bluffed?

"No, nothing".

Well, it was a reply at least, but she didn't believe him. From the way Mitch was looking at Andy she could tell he didn't either.

"I am suspending this interview at twenty-two hundred hours until further notice" Rachel spoke, ignoring the hateful glare of Andy's eyes. 'It would do him good to spend a night in a cell!' Rachel thought to herself as she closed the door behind her, but in the back of her mind she knew that Janet would be doing precisely that.

.o.0.o.

It was hot - dreadfully hot. The stone walls of the cell seemed to radiate heat rather than absorb it; the air humid and sticky. It was hard to breath, the claustrophobic room causing her heart to beat faster. The sheets were scratchy, and the mattress wasn't exactly springy. Janet leant against the wall, her eyes drifting closed. She wondered if anyone had got in touch with her mother to let her know where she was. Perhaps Gill had, or maybe Rachel? In any case, she didn't want Taisie and Elise to know, but now they were all grown up it had become harder to keep things from them. Janet closed her eyes. How long would it take him to find out? How long did she have left?

.o.0.o.

"Put the knife down, Geoff!"

She could see the steel blade shining in the sunlight, its metal edge sharp and fresh.

"I don't want to hurt you, Janet!"

She could feel the blood running down her cheek, thick and warm against her fingers, "Well, you already did, now put the knife down. You're not going anywhere!"

He ran at the door. She ran after him. They struggled. She knew she was going to die. A kick in the side. He was sprawled on the floor, crawling away from her. He tried to open the door, and she only just managed to stop him. The knife rose in his hand and she was powerless to stop him. A scream; she fell. He towered over her, the knife clutched in his hand.

"You'll pay for this Janet…"

He was there; they were both there. It was him. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and all she could do was hold her stomach, her life draining away.

"We did warn you…"

A hand over her mouth. A knife in her side. She screamed.

.o.0.o.

Janet rose from the bed gasping for air, the sheets clutched in her white fingers. Her breathing was uncontrollable as sweat dripped off her forehead, her body shaking violently. She ran an unsteady hand over the faint scar on her left cheek. There was no blood. Janet checked her sides, her fingers trembling terribly in the dim light, but there was no blood. It had only been a dream.


	28. Chapter 28

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: First of all I am so, so sorry about not updating this sooner - I completely forgot, and my workload is getting ridiculous, but hey, it's life. So, here's the next update! Thank you so much for all the reviews and to everyone out there reading this! It means a lot! Hopefully, this'll get the cogs turning and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it. Please review and let me know what you think? More to come soon. Enjoy :)**

* * *

The sunlight streamed in through the open windows; a refreshing change from the dull grey sky that had lingered over Manchester for the past few weeks. It was quiet in the office, and the only sounds that could be heard were the boiling of the kettle and the ticking of the clock.

"Come on, please..." Rachel spoke to the computer screen, scrolling through pages and pages of emails, "Somebody give me something. _Anything_!"

Kevin snickered behind her back, spilling his cup of tea, "Talking to computers now, are we?"

Rachel reeled round and glared at him, "Well, Kevin, if you haven't noticed I am slightly lacking in people to talk to!"

It was true. There was hardly anyone in the office. Gill was in a meeting accompanied by Rob, Mitch was writing up reports; everyone else was out in other departments. There was only Pete and Lee sitting quietly in the corner on their own computers. Rachel turned back to her screen. Kevin muttered something under his breath as he walked away, but Rachel didn't notice. Her eyes were fixed on the screen ahead of her, widening in horror as she read through the email she had just opened.

"Kevin!" Rachel called with urgency, "Come here and read this!"

Kevin walked over to Rachel, still moping about the tea stain down his shirt. The stain was forgotten about however as soon as he began to read the much anticipated words on Rachel's' computer screen. It contained the following message:

_'__Miss Bailey. _

_I am pleased to inform you that after much work and dedication I have been able to decode the messages you have relayed to me. The code was superenciphered – which means that the message was first encoded, and was then re-enciphered. I have never come across such an extensively complex code before, and although it has been a pleasure to decode it, I believe that the message is not nearly quite so pleasing. The message that you most recently relayed to me is translated as follows:_

_'You can't run Janet. I know where to find you. It will all end soon, all the anger and pain. Try to stop me and you will suffer the consequences… I promise you that'._

_The message that Mr Roper was sent is similar to this:_

_'__It will all end soon. You will suffer the consequences if you try to stop me'._

_I hope that this helps you on your case Miss Bailey, and I anticipate your success._

_Kind regards,_

_Ann Darling - University Lecturer'_

Rachel felt a rush of joy and complete horror as she read the final words. 'This is it!' she thought, running her hands through her hair in disbelief, 'This proves Janets' innocence!'

"Let's go tell the Boss!" Rachel exclaimed. Kevin held up his hands, "But she's in a meeting with-"

"I don't care if she's in a meeting with the PM!" Rachel interrupted, grinning as she dragged Kevin out of the office behind her, "We're telling her _now!_"

.o.0.o.

DCI Murray took a deep breath. The next few hours were going to be hell. "Right, you all know why we're here, so let's get cracking. What do we have, Rachel?"

Rachel stopped clicking her pen and put it behind her ear, "I had an email through about half an hour ago from Ann Darling who is a University Lecturer in Leeds. She's managed to crack Geoff Hastings' code and we now know what the emails sent to Janet and Andy say".

Kevin handed out the copies of the email, "The messages in the email are anonymous, but the main suspect here is of course Geoff Hastings".

Gill frowned, "How do we know that Hastings is behind all of this? It was he who broke into Janet's house, and so far the emails can only have come from him".

Rob turned to Gill, quickly scribbling notes on his paper, "Ma'am, what we need now is a plan. We need to go through every single detail and come up with a possible solution".

DCI Murray nodded, "Okay, so… 16th October: Geoff Hastings escapes from prison and Henry Osmond is murdered. CCTV from the prison shows Hastings, Osmond, Roper and possibly – remember there is no solid evidence – Janet. Now, were they all involved? Who was in charge? Was Henry Osmond murdered on that night – his body was found on the Saturday which was two days later".

Mitch held up his hand, "Boss, if Osmond _was _murdered on the Thursday then how did Janet's DNA end up on his clothes?"

Gill raised her eyebrows and folded her arms, "Good question. Any ideas? Sherlock?"

Rachel took her pen out from behind her ear. What if he was murdered on the Thursday, but his body was moved? What if someone moved the body after he was murdered? Rachel looked up at Gill, a new series of events forming in her mind, "What if Osmond was murdered on the 16th, but his body was moved on the Friday – possibly late evening?"

"What about the DNA?" Kevin asked, chewing the end of his pen.

"Janet met Andy on the Friday, didn't she? He confronted her and he hurt her hands, so her blood would have been on him right?"

Gill leant forward in her seat, "So are you saying that Andy murdered Osmond? If he had Janet's blood on him then he would have had to be near the body for both DNA's to have been found there".

Rachel shook her head, "Yes, he would have had to deal with the body, and it's possible he could have murdered him – he does have a motive – but he also could have been forced to help move the body if it was Hastings".

Rob rubbed his head. This case was getting more complicated by the second!

"What about the CCTV footage? We have no solid evidence that Janet was at the prison at all, so we could call her daughters in to give evidence that she wasn't".

"If it wasn't Janet at the prison then who was it?" Kevin asked. Gill sighed, "We don't know. Okay, what about Roper? He is clearly identified on the CCTV, we have no idea why he confronted Janet, and he potentially momentarily stole and hacked her phone. It would have had to have been a really quick job due to the short amount of time that they spent together. However, if all this was Hastings idea, then why has he done all this?"

Rachel raised her hand, "What if Andy is still angry?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if Andy is still mad at Janet? What if he purposely helped Geoff Hastings out of prison so they could both take revenge?"

"I don't get it?" Kevin said confusedly.

"Andy never got over Janet - we all know that! What if he took her phone to get her number, and then hacked it so he would know where she was? What if-?" Rachel's eyes lit up with the realisation of what could have potentially happened, "Boss, do you remember when you told me and Jan about the media having control of Geoff Hastings' diaries?"

Gill nodded, confused as to what this had to do with anything, "Yeah. What about it?"

"What if it was Andy? What if Andy sold the diaries to the media? When you told us Janet didn't even seem surprised. It was like she already knew! What if Andy couldn't keep the secret to himself, and blurted it to Janet, and then threatened to kill her if she told anyone?"

Gill nodded. It was all beginning to add up.


	29. Chapter 29

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Here's the next chapter! Thank you so, so much for all the lovely reviews! And to everyone following and reading this! Another long one, because I simply couldn't stop typing, so I hope you like it? Might be able to take a breath for a while... As always please, please review and let me know what you think? Another chapter to come soon. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Janet sat nervously on the cell bed, her hands clasped together. DC Bradley had been in earlier, saying that Syndicate 9 had found some information that could alter the course the case was taking. His face did not give much away, but Janet knew by the slight ghost of a smile that passed his lips that it couldn't be bad. That however had been four hours ago… The door of the cell unlocked, and DC Bradley stood in the doorway. There was a moment of silence before he spoke; the air thick with apprehension. Janet held her breath, uncertain as to whether he bore good or bad news.

"You're free to go, Mrs Scott".

.o.0.o.

"You alright, Boss?" Rachel asked quietly, as DCI Murray's fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Gill's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, her mind accelerating at full speed, "I'm fine".

It was obvious that she wasn't. Rachel looked out of the window. After five hours of meetings and phone calls they had finally managed to pull through. They hadn't fully proven Janet's innocence, and there were still many things that needed explaining, but it had been enough to release her from prison.

"You know when I was in prison – well under suspicion - last year?"

Gill looked at her young colleague out of the corner of her eye. Rachel never talked about anything personal.

"What about it?"

"Well you know how it was that call from the taxi driver that really cleared my name? The one who phoned and said how he drove me home where I fell over the curb?"

Gill was beginning to wonder where the conversation was headed, "Yeah?"

"Well, it was actually Janet's idea to ask around. She didn't give up on me…"

"What are you trying to say Rachel?"

Rachel frowned. How could she explain how she felt? "It's stupid. It doesn't matter… I just … I don't want her to think…"

Gill sighed. She should have realised, "Rachel, this is not your fault. You've done as much as you can-"

"But it's not enough!" Rachel interrupted angrily, "I've let her down so many times and the one time she gets into trouble I can't do anything to help!"

"Look, kid, if you hadn't kept going with those emails Janet would've still been in prison right now. None of us were prepared for this and so far you've done all you can-"

"But-"

"Rachel you know that Janet would never judge you. She loves you to bits!"

Rachel smiled slightly. It was strange hearing those words from the mouth of Godzilla.

"She's in the clear now" Gill continued, "You can help right now by being there for her. You've got to stick by her side Rach, because Janet's gonna need all of our help to get through this".

Rachel turned to look at her DCI and nodded slowly, "I know".

.o.0.o.

Janet looked at her watch. It was 3 o'clock. She stood waiting outside the station for Gill and Rachel to pick her up. Taisie and Elise would be home from school in a few hours, and life would go back to normal again… but Janet knew that it never would be quite the same. She saw Gill drive around the corner, and Rachel dashing towards her moments after. Rachel never said a word, but instead offered out her arms for a hug. Gill smiled, "Hey Jan".

"Hi Boss" Janet smiled, as Rachel held onto her tightly, silently vowing not to let anything like this happen to her friend again. It was nice to know that her friends were there, and that she wasn't on her own.

"Rach?"

"Yes Janet?"

"You can let go now" Janet said, laughing slightly.

"Oh… yeah" Rachel laughed as she let go of her friend. Gill stood awkwardly on the side, wondering whether to embrace her friend. She never showed emotion in front of anyone, but it seemed appropriate to do so now. Gill took a step towards Janet and wrapped an arm round her, pulling her in for a hug. Rachel's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but Janet returned the hug happily.

"You alright, kid?" Gill asked.

Janet nodded, "I am now".

.o.0.o.

"Thanks for bringing her home, Gill" Dorothy said as she shook DCI Murray's hand. She had invited her in, but Gill had insisted on returning to work. Rachel on the other hand hadn't left Janet's side. Gill smiled, "You're very welcome. Call me if you need anything!"

Gill drove off down the road and back to the MMP Station as Dorothy waved her goodbye. Turning around, she found Rachel racing around the kitchen trying to find something.

"You alright, love?" Dorothy asked amusedly. Rachel looked up, a bottle of milk in one hand and a tea spoon in the other.

"I can't find any coffee?!" she exclaimed. Dorothy made a face. Rachel was a funny one in her mind, there was something about her that bordered on ditsy and almost hazardous.

"It should be in the left hand cupboard there" Dorothy said. Rachel shook her head, "I've checked everywhere! I'll have to go and get some".

Dorothy was surprised, "You sure you don't want me to go?"

"Nah, it's fine" Rachel replied, putting the milk back in the fridge and picking up her bag, "Just check on Janet for me please?"

Dorothy saw the worried look in the young detective's eyes, and for a moment she seemed quite vulnerable. She nodded her head, "Of course I will".

.o.0.o.

Janet sat on the edge of her bed staring into oblivion; her hands white with fear as she gripped the sheets with her fingers. A deafening silence resonated in her ears, and time was all a blur as reality mingled with fabricated dreams. She hardly noticed her mother walking in and sitting down beside her.

"Hi love" Dorothy spoke softly, as she pried her daughter's fingers off the sheets and entwined them with her own. Janet didn't look up. She had seemed alright when Gill and Rachel had brought her home, but now… What should she say? What _could_ she say?

"Mum…?"

Dorothy smiled sadly as she held her daughter's frightened gaze. The look in Janet's eyes resembled the eyes of a child begging their mother for an explanation; a few words of reassurance that all would be right in the end. Dorothy knew she had no such words that could comfort her grown daughter and instead wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I'm here".

.o.0.o.

Gill drove down the road at a speed she knew was well above the speed limit. She was angry. The guilt that she felt was immeasurable, and even after the one-hundredth apology she still didn't feel forgiven. She just couldn't forgive herself. Why did she let it happen? Why couldn't she have just stood up to Julie, and said: 'No I am _not_ letting you arrest Janet. I know there is evidence against her, but we both know that she has nothing to do with any of this!' Why couldn't she have just said that?

_RING RING!_

Gill huffed angrily as she picked up the phone, "Gill Murray speaking".

"Hi it's Julie".

Gill almost considered putting down the phone there and then.

"I just wanted to tell you that we're keeping Andy under arrest".

Well that was good news.

"Gill, are you there?"

Gill swallowed, trying to keep the uncontrollable anger she felt out of her voice, "Yeah, thanks for telling me".

She hoped Julie would just put the phone down and end the conversation, but she didn't. Neither of them said anything, and Gill began to cringe in the silence.

"I am sorry, Gill. I hope you know that?"

Gill nodded, forcing the lump that had grown in her throat to disappear, "I know".


	30. Chapter 30

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! And to everyone following and reading this! Thank you to ukulelefoot for the correction - I'm not entirely sure how the procedures work but I do try... This is potentially the shortest chapter yet, which I apologise for, but it was necessary because of this massive cliffhanger! I hope you like it? Please review and let me know your thoughts? More to come soon. Enjoy :)**

* * *

It was him. He was there. He was standing there in the kitchen in front of her. He didn't turn away, and he didn't come any closer. She stood rooted to the spot; a scream lodged in her throat. Her hand immediately reached for a knife, trembling as it gripped the handle. He held out a hand, pleading desperately, "I'm not going to hurt you, Janet".

She didn't believe him. How _could she_ believe him?

"I'm not going to hurt you!" he said again, this time taking a step closer. Janet held the knife tightly.

"I don't believe you!" she whispered in a hoarse voice. It was all too familiar: the blade shining in the sunlight; its metal edge sharp and fresh. He took a step towards her, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Don't take another step" Janet warned, pointing the knife at him. He stopped and put his hands behind his head, "I am not here to hurt you, Janet. I came to warn you".

"Warn me?" Janet enquired, feeling the old sense of confidence returning, "Warn me about what?"

He looked at her grimly, his voice dead serious, "About the man who is behind all this".

Janet lowered the knife slightly, suddenly realising what could potentially happen if Rachel happened to walk through the front door or her mother came downstairs, "And who is that?"

"Put the knife down and I'll tell you".

Janet shook her head. She would _never_ trust him again. Not ever.

"I don't think so".

"Let me explain" he started, but Janet only tightened her grip on the knife. Sighing, he held out his hand to her, "Janet, let me explain. Please? I mean you no harm".

Janet eyed him cautiously. The concern in his voice was disconcerting, and yet it seemed to alleviate her fears that he would do anything in the way of harm. Dropping the knife to her side, Janet prayed that she was making the right decision. Her life depended on it.

"Alright, Geoff".


	31. Chapter 31

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Dun dun duuunn... next chapter is here! Thank you very much for all the reviews! And to everyone following and reading this! This chapter may put the spanner in the works, and it's up to you to decide on which side you're willing to believe. Took a while to write but it's here. More to come soon. Please review and let me know what you think? Constructive criticism is alway welcome. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rachel walked down the road back to Janet's house, wondering what she should do. Should she stay and help Dorothy? Or keep the girls occupied? Did they even need her help? Should she go home? Just as she was about to open the front door something caught her eye... or rather _someone_ caught her eye. A figure clothed in black stood watching her from the opposite side of the road, waiting silently. His face was concealed, but Rachel could still see his eyes. She knew those eyes. She _hated_ those eyes. They were the eyes of the man who had almost killed her best friend; the eyes of Geoff Hastings.

He flinched, and seconds later began to run. Rachel was about to run after him when the front door opened.

"Rach, are you alright?" Janet asked quietly as she watched Geoff disappear down the road. Rachel turned to look at her friend, confused by the look on her face. She pointed down the road, her voice exasperated and irate, "Did you see him?"

Janet bit her lip, and nodded, "Yeah, I saw him".

She turned to go back inside, when Rachel caught hold of her arm. Something was going on, she just knew it. Searching Janet's eyes for an explanation, Rachel quickly followed her inside and sat down at the kitchen table.

"What's going on, Jan?" she asked, "You saw him. Why didn't you call the police?"

Janet sighed, and sat down opposite her friend, "There was no need to".

No need to? What was she on about? Half the country was searching for this man and she had let him get away!

"He's giving himself up to the police" Janet continued, "He's turning himself in".

"WHAT?!"

"He says he regrets what he did, and he's tired of running away when he knows he should face the consequences of his actions".

Rachel's eyes widened in horror, "You spoke to him? You mean he was _here_?"

Janet didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

"What did he say?" Rachel asked, "Why did he come?"

"He came to warn me" Janet replied, feeling uneasy as Rachel's eyes bore into her.

"About who?"

'Funny she should say who and not what' Janet thought.

"About Andy".

_"Andy?"_

"Geoff said it was all Andy's idea. The whole thing" Janet shrugged, "He said it was Andy who set it all up".

"And you believed him?" Rachel doubted.

_EARLIER_

"It was all Andy's idea you know" Geoff said, fiddling nervously with his watch, "_He_ approached _me_ - not the other way around".

"What was Andy's idea, Geoff?" Janet asked in as professional a tone as she could muster.

"To get me out of prison. He organised it; him and some bloke named Osmond –no idea who he was".

Janet couldn't help being surprised by this. Perhaps Geoff had nothing to do with Osmond's murder then? But was Andy capable of murder? Perhaps he was...

"And you went along with it?"

Geoff nodded slowly, "It was a chance of freedom, if only for a short while. But I didn't want to go along with rest of his plans…"

"The rest?" Janet queried.

"He told me to break into your house" Geoff explained, "I didn't want to, but he threatened to hand me over to the police. He told me to plant it on you".

"Plant what on me, Geoff?"

"My diary" Geoff replied, "He wanted to make it look like you were the one who was behind it all. He wanted revenge on you, Janet".

Janet froze with the realisation of what all this meant, "So the emails…?"

"Were sent from him" Geoff confirmed, "He sent one to himself so that he would appear to be the victim and not the suspect".

"But how did he get the code?" Janet asked quickly, not wanting to believe Geoff's words but knowing deep down that he could potentially be telling her the truth.

"He paid me for it and I gave it to him. I knew it wouldn't take that long for someone to figure out anyway…"

"How much did he pay you?"

Geoff laughed disdainfully, and almost caught her of guard.

"£2000!" Geoff laughed hysterically, the sound of his voice contrasting with the threatening look in his dark eyes, "He paid me £2000!"

Janet nodded uneasily. Suddenly Geoff reached for her hand, and she quickly picked up the knife again.

"I am sorry, Janet" he whispered in an alarming tone, "I'm sorry for what I did to you".

"Sometimes sorry just isn't enough, Geoff" Janet sighed, backing away slowly, "I trusted you, and I shouldn't have".

Geoff recoiled back into his chair, an almost sad and contemptuous glare in his eyes. He sat there staring at her for a while, and Janet decided that perhaps it was time for him to leave before anything disastrous could happen.

"You should go, Geoff" Janet said gently, keeping her grip around the knife. He nodded slowly, his fists tightening as he spoke, "I never meant to hurt you. I didn't want to… you were different from the others…"

Geoff stood up from the chair, and Janet followed suit, uncertainty drifting in the air.

"Geoff-" she warned as he came closer to her.

"I'm tired of running, Janet. I'm tired of fighting" Geoff explained, trying to keep his distance. How could he explain how sorry he really was? Would she ever believe him? _No_. She would never trust him again.

"I'm going to turn myself in – to the police I mean" he spoke, a slight smile on his face, "Freedom is always short-lived in my opinion".

And with that he was gone.


	32. Chapter 32

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Here we go again... the next chapter is here! Thank you so much for all the reviews! And to everyone following this story! Hope you like this chapter; plot twists galore and new surprises in store - unless this story is completely predictable, but hopefully not... Anyway, there's more to come soon. Please review and let me know your thoughts? Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rachel groaned. Surely it was too early to get up? The room was dark and her eyes adjusted easily to the dimness, searching her surroundings. It took her only moments to remember where she was - she was in the spare room at Janet's. Rachel sat up, brushing her hair away from her tired face. It really _was_ too early to get up. Lying her head back down on the pillow, she considered going back to sleep but found she couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes she could see Geoff running away from her and Andy's glaring eyes.

'What if Geoff was telling the truth?' Rachel thought to herself, throwing back the covers and reaching blindly for her dressing gown, 'What if it is Andy?' Making up her mind, Rachel tiptoed out of the spare room and across the hallway to Janet's.

"Jan?" she whispered, poking her head around the door frame.

"Rachel, is that you?" a tired voice called back, turning on the bedside lamp, "Come in you daft thing! What are you doing awake?"

Rachel walked over to Janet, and nearly fell over something.

"Honestly, Janet – leaving shoes in the middle of the floor!" Rachel tutted, a tone of amusement in her voice. Janet looked up at her friend, "You can't sleep either?"

Rachel sighed, sitting down on the bed, "I can't stop thinking about today. I was just wondering…"

"What?" Janet enquired gently, pulling her knees up to her chest defensively. Rachel shuffled over to her friend, and rested her head on her knees, "What if Geoff was right? What if he was telling the truth about the whole thing?"

Janet shifted nervously, "I was thinking the same thing".

"If Geoff was right" Rachel whispered, the cogs in her mind ticking away, "then he does have a motive for murdering Henry Osmond".

"Can we get him to confess?" Janet asked. Rachel shook her head, "We'll be lucky if that idiot ever confesses to anything! The thing I don't get is why there are four people on that CCTV?"

Janet shrugged, "It must have been someone they knew. Someone close who wouldn't give them away".

Rachel stared at Janet; their minds combined as the same thought presented itself like a gift at Christmas time.

"It's Mrs Osmond!" they spoke in unison.

.o.0.o.

_RING RING!_

"Oh no - not again!" Gill groaned, rolling out of bed and crawling on the floor trying to find her bag.

_RING RING!_

"I'm not nocturnal you know!" Gill yelled, digging out her phone and pressing the receive call button, "WHAT?!"

"Whoa Boss!" Rachel exclaimed, pulling the phone away from her ear, and making a face at Janet, "It's only me".

"Kid! Have you no sense of time?" Gill huffed, sitting back down on her bed, the duvet half on the floor, "What is it?"

Rachel bit her lip, "It's about Geoff Hastings… He came over to Janet's yesterday…"

"What do you mean came over?" Gill enquired, the urgency in her voice causing her to almost snap at the young detective.

"He talked to Janet".

"Is she there?"

Rachel looked at Janet, who was staring at her intently through bleary eyes, "Yeah, she's here, but we're both fine Boss honest. He… well, Jan will tell you…"

Rachel handed the phone to Janet, resting her head on her friends' knees like a puppy on its owners lap. She only heard half the conversation; her mind battling away the doubts and trying to come up with new solutions. All of a sudden she knew what she had to do.

"I need to visit Mrs Osmond" Rachel blurted out, sitting up on the bed, "I need to go now".

"Now?" Janet mouthed, still listening to what DCI Murray was telling her, "Boss, Rachel wants to visit Mrs Osmond. May she have your permission?"

Gill looked at her watch. It was only 5 o'clock.

"Yes you have my permission, but only as long as you go with her Janet".

Janet opened her mouth to speak, but Gill cut her off, "I don't want you left in your house on your own. If what Hastings said is true then you're not safe there. You are going with her Janet".

Janet nodded at Rachel, who immediately got off the bed and tiptoed back into the spare room to get ready, "Yes Boss".


	33. Chapter 33

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: I am so unbelievably sorry about the wait for this chapter. Unfortunately the connection is broken between my laptop and the internet so I keep having to borrow my sisters, but... Thank you so much for all the reviews and support! It means ever so much. We are nearing the end of the tale - I think - but there'll be more to come soon. Please review and let me know what you think? Enjoy :)**

* * *

The sun rose slowly over Manchester, the early morning mist dispersing as the day melted away the night. Rachel slumped sleepily against the car window, listening to the deep hum of the engine as they made their way towards Stockport.

"You're not going to go to sleep and leave me to do all the talking are you, Rach?" Janet teased, glancing sideways at her friend.

Rachel hummed, pursing her lips, "Mmm… maybe?"

Janet pulled up outside the Osmond's home. It looked more dilapidated than the last time they visited.

"Come on, sleepy-head!" Janet called, giving Rachel a shove as she got out of the car. It was bitterly cold outside despite the strengthening rays of the sun. Rachel shivered as she walked up the drive and stood beside her friend, "Do you think she'll be up?"

Janet shrugged, and rang the doorbell again, "I doubt it".

The front door creaked open slowly, and a small face peered round the frame. It was the little girl they had seen last time. Rachel bent down to her, "Is your mum in?"

The little girl nodded hesitantly, her grip on the door frame tightening. 'She's scared' Rachel realised, holding out her hand to the little girl, "My name's Rachel and this is Janet. We've come to see your mum".

The little girl peered up at Janet and a smile of recognition appeared on her small face.

"I remember" she said quietly, taking Rachel's hand and leading her inside, "Mummy's just getting up. She'll be down soon".

Rachel cast a glance at Janet, who shut the front door carefully behind them.

"Izzy, who is it?" a voice called from upstairs. The little girl clutched Rachel's hand, as Mrs Osmond came down the staircase and stopped dead in her tracks.

"DC Bailey?"

"Mrs Osmond".

.o.0.o.

"Mrs Osmond - may I call you Louise?"

Mrs Osmond nodded, glancing nervously at her daughter who stood quietly beside DC Scott, "Sure".

"We need to know, Louise, whether you saw your husband on the night he died?"

Mrs Osmond shifted nervously in her chair, "I… I did see him, yes".

"When?" Rachel queried.

"At about 9 o'clock I think. Yes, it was just before he had to leave…"

Rachel cocked her head to one side. Leave? What did she mean by that?

"Where were you at that time, Louise?"

Mrs Osmond but her lip, "Inside Manchester prison. The security guards know who I am and they always let me in. I needed to see him".

"You were with him inside the prison?" Rachel asked, hoping that her thoughts would be confirmed by Mrs Osmond's words. Louise looked down at the floor. She didn't want to talk about it – not in front of her daughter.

"Was anyone else with you?" Janet pushed gently, lifting the small girl onto her knee. Izzy smiled happily at her mother, entirely oblivious to the situation at hand. Mrs Osmond sighed, "Henry was escorting a prisoner at the time – a Geoff Hastings I think – and Andy was there too".

Rachel bit her lip, barely able to contain her anticipation. If Mrs Osmond was the fourth person on the CCTV then it all made sense!

"Why did you _need_ to see your husband, Louise?" Janet enquired, as Izzy happily played with her scarf, "You said need. It must have been urgent?"

Mrs Osmond glanced down at the floor again. When she opened her mouth to speak her voice was barely a whisper, cracked with fear and dread, "I had to warn him… I had to warn him about Andy".

"Andy?"

"Henry knew about the brief relationship I had with him, but he forgave me. Andy was mad. I mean really mad. He threatened to kill me. He threatened to kill Henry-"

_RING RING!_

Janet jumped at the sound of her phone.

"Excuse me" she apologised, sliding the little girl of her knee and walking into the adjacent room. Izzy picked up the scarf she had been playing with and followed her curiously. Rachel could hear Janet's voice through the paper thin walls, and she didn't like the tone she was using.

"Rachel, can I have a word?" Janet asked, beckoning her friend into the hallway. Rachel excused herself and followed Janet. She looked frightened.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Janet took a deep breath, her voice shaking as she tried to stay calm, "Elise has had an accident. She's in hospital. They don't know what happened…"

Rachel's eyes were wide with surprise. Of all the scenarios that could have happened, this was the least she expected.

"Oh, Jan. Is she alright?"

"I don't know" Janet replied, her eyes glazed with fear, "I'm so sorry Rach but I'm gonna have to go".

Rachel shook her head and squeezed Janet's shoulder, "It's fine. It's fine. Go. I'll catch up with you later".

Janet smiled at her friend, and gave her a quick hug before hurrying out of the front door.


	34. Chapter 34

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all of the lovely reviews and support! It means ever so much to me :) Here's the next chapter! I really hope you like it, because this is where the speed picks up. There'll be more to come soon - promise. Really need to stop all these terrible cliffhangers. Hopefully this wasn't too predictable? Please review and let me know your thoughts? Feedback is always welcome. Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Henry knew about Andy and I. He knew what happened" Louise continued sadly, "...I told him".

"You told him?" Rachel asked, the bewilderment written all over her face. It took a lot of courage to admit something like that.

"Yeah" Louise confirmed, nodding her head slowly, "He was quite upset at first, but I think he forgave me… anyway, I knew Andy wouldn't forgive me, and after he threatened me I just _had_ to tell Henry".

"So, what did you tell him?"

"I told him that Andy was mad and had threatened to kill us both!" Louise said, waving her hands in the air like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I had to take him to one side away from Andy and that Geoff bloke".

"But what did you tell him?" Rachel pushed, needing a definite answer.

"I told him that Andy Roper was going to murder him, and soon… only, I didn't realise how soon… I saw him do it…"

"You _saw_ him?"

Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. Andy? _No_. Surely not?

"They went outside and went to the car that Andy had leant us… and then he attacked him…"

Rachel sat dumbfounded. _Andy?_ Mrs Osmond wiped an angry tear from the corner of her eye, "I was too scared to do anything, but I saw it. It wasn't Geoff… It was Andy… He was the one who murdered my husband…"

.o.0.o.

"Boss, it's Rachel! I know who killed Henry Osmond!" Rachel exclaimed, pacing up and down on the street outside the Osmond's house, with very little patience left. DCI Murray stood still in her office with Rob, who was looking at her intently.

"Who?" she enquired, calmly.

"Andy!" Rachel cried, "Of all the people in the world!"

Gill's eyebrows nearly went through the roof, "Rachel-"

"I can't believe it, Boss! Hastings was telling the truth!"

"Rachel!" Gill spoke sharply, signalling to Rob to go and get his coat, "Andy Roper has just been released. He's free!"

Rachel's eyes widened in horror, and she began to run frantically "Oh sh… Re-arrest him, Boss. Now!"

"You don't need to tell me twice, kid. Where's Janet?" Gill asked, pulling on her coat.

"She er… she went to see Elise in hospital. She had an accident of some sort before school - I think..."

Gill shook her head, "Elise is in school, Rachel. I took the girls there myself. I've only just left them!"

"You took them to school?" Rachel wondered. Godzilla took Elise and Taisie to school?

"Yes, Dorothy asked me to. Elise is fine. What's going on Rachel?"

Rachel was about to say she didn't know, and then she realised the truth… and it had all been a lie…

It was a set up.

"He's going to go after Janet!" Rachel flung her hands up in the air, panicking, "What do I do? Jan's taken the car! He could be anywhere!"

Gill raced out of the office, calling to Rob to re-arrest Andy Roper, "Give me time, kid. I'm coming to get you!"


	35. Chapter 35

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Dun dun duunnn... It's all happening! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and for all your support so far! It means so much! So, here's the next chapter! Super excited now; I really hope you enjoy it. Please review and let me know what you think? More to come soon. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Janet sat on the edge of her car seat, gripping onto the steering wheel as if for dear life. 'Please be okay, Elise. Please!' she thought, barely able to concentrate on where she was going. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

_RING RING!_

Janet picked up her phone immediately. Her hands shaking as she put it on loudspeaker.

"Jan, it's Rachel" her friend's voice came through quickly, "Where are you?"

Janet couldn't mistake the fear in Rachel's tone, and ignored the question entirely, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Rachel bit her lip, hesitating.

"Rach, what's wrong?" Janet asked again, speeding down the country lane as she searched for the signs to the hospital whilst Rachel paced up and down the pavement, a hand brushing through her hair nervously. She took a deep breath, "It's a set up, Jan. It's all a lie. Elise is fine. Your mum asked Gill to take her and Taisie to school".

Janet shook her head, "What do you mean a set up?"

"It's Andy!" Rachel blurted out, kicking the curb in frustration, "Andy murdered Henry Osmond!"

Janet froze in her seat. It was Andy?

"He was released and now he's gone free" Rachel ranted on, her patience wearing thin as she waited for DCI Murray to come and pick her up, "We don't know where he is, or what he's going to do. He's a threat now, and he could be anywhere-"

Rachel trailed off, the possibilities running through her mind, "Jan, you still there?"

There was a crackle of silence before she spoke, "I'm here".

Rachel sighed. Where the _hell_ was Gill? Leaning against a lamppost, she dug her heels into the ground and steadied her breathing. She'd be no use if she was as wound up as everyone else.

"He's gonna come after you, Janet" Rachel spoke quietly, not wanting to scare her friend, "You need to get somewhere safe_ right now_. Go to the office. Godzilla is coming to pick me up".

Janet nodded silently, a small smile tugging at her lips at Rachel's use of Gill's nickname, "You okay?"

"Me?! You're asking me whether I'm okay?" Rachel almost laughed down the phone, "Good grief, I'm absolutely fine! How about you?"

"I have _never_ been better" Janet replied, sarcastically.

"I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"Okay".

Janet put the phone down. Geoff had been telling the truth. _Andy_ had murdered Henry Osmond! She could hardly comprehend it. Janet slowed the car down a little, looking for the route to the office. She was about to turn left when a white van sped past her and knocked the back bumper, sending her car round in circles. Janet panicked, and tried to steady the steering wheel, but it was jammed. A flash of white. The van hit again. The car tumbled off the road and down towards the river. She screamed. And then there was silence, and all became black.

* * *

**A/N2: Apologies for the ending of this chapter. I really couldn't help myself...**


	36. Chapter 36

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Me again :) Thank you so very, very much for all the reviews and to everyone who is following this story. It really means a lot to me! So... here we are again. Tension is running high, and the end is nigh. Oh dear, that rhymes. But still, I think I have a good ending up my sleeve ;) ****Next update won't be too far away. ****Please review and let me know your thoughts? Constructive criticism always helps. Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Mum!"

Voices echoed in the cool autumn air, distant and muffled.

"Mum!"

Janet slowly opened her eyes, trying to remember what on earth had happened. Blood was rushing to her head, a strain holding her to her seat. Of course. She coughed, trying to reach for her phone, but her arm would not move. Damn. Turning her head she found rushing water flowing in through the broken car window, shallow but cold. It was calming in a way, a break from the day's chaos and troubles. The car was upside down on the bank of the river; battered and bruised. Janet tried to move from where she was hanging in mid-air, the seat belt wrapped around her arm, but she couldn't.

"Mum!" the voice called again. Janet tried to call back, but her voice stuck in her throat and all that came out was a stifled cry. Pain shot through her as she felt a hand on her arm, trying to free her from the wreckage. The water was rising higher. Janet began to panic.

"Stay still!" a low voice spoke, calm and yet menacing, as they pulled on her arm, pain flaming around her shoulder. With trembling fingers, Janet tried to unclip the seatbelt that was keeping her in place.

_CLICK!_

Janet tumbled forward out of her seat, and two pairs of arms quickly twisted her body. A hand fumbled around her back and began to pull. In one swift movement, she was yanked out of her car and dragged up the bank.

"Thank you" Janet managed to breathe, clutching her rib cage. Every breath she drew felt like fire; flames dancing around her lungs. She looked up to see who her rescuer was, and wished that she hadn't.

"Get in the van, Janet".

She shook her head. She wasn't going to go anywhere with him if she could help it. He drew out a gun, "I said get in the van, or I'll shoot your children!"

Children? Janet looked to where he was pointing and saw two small faces peering out of the window, staring at her through frightened eyes... Taisie and Elise. She felt sick. Janet tried to stand up, "Let them go".

He laughed, and dragged her to her feet, "I don't think so".

.o.0.o.

"Come on Janet. Pick up. Pick up please?" Rachel spoke to herself, having dialled Janet's number for the fifth time. She hated this - the sickening clenching of her stomach whenever she felt anything terrible had happened. Something wasn't right.

_'Your call has been forwarded-'_

"Argh! She's not picking up!" Rachel cried, throwing her phone back into her bag. If Andy had even laid a hand on her friend, or heaven forbid Taisie and Elise, she swore that she would kill him. She'd punch his smirking face and wring his scrawny neck! Gill glanced at her from behind the wheel, "Killing him isn't the answer, kid".

"What are you? A telepath?" Rachel rounded, her face contorted in anger and disbelief. Gill sighed, "Killing him is not going to help anyone. You kill him, you go to jail. Simple as".

Of course, Godzilla was right. As usual.

.o.0.o.

Janet slumped against the car door as he held her phone in his hand. What mess had she gotten herself into?

"We won't be needing this, will we?" he sneered, chucking the phone into the river behind them. Janet stared at him. This wasn't the Andy she knew. This wasn't him.

"Andy-"

He stepped forward, placing a hand on her dislocated shoulder and holding the gun to her head. Pulling her away from the car, he gripped her by her coat, "I suggest you get in the car, Janet".

.o.0.o.

DCI Murray paced up and down in her office, sheets of paper scattered in all directions as she waited for DCI Dodson to pick up her damn phone. Rachel leant against the desk, nervously biting her nails. If she couldn't kill Andy, she would sure as heck find other ways of making his life as miserable as possible.

DCI Murray spoke as soon as she heard the familiar crackle of connection, "Julie, it's Gill".

DCI Dodson frowned - Gill never called her by her first name.

"What's the matter?" Julie asked, trying to keep her tone as professional as she could, "Are you okay?"

Julie could hear the panic in her friend's voice. Gill _never_ panicked.

"It's Janet" Gill replied after taking a deep breath, "We think Andy's gone after her, and she's not picking up her phone. I need you to bring your team in. I can't do this one on my own".

Julie nodded, "Give me half an hour".


	37. Chapter 37

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scott & Bailey.  
**

**Authors Note: Thank you _so much_ for all the reviews and to everyone who is following and supporting this story. It means a lot! Sorry I haven't updates in a while, but here is the next chapter. I know it's a little on the short side, but the next one will be longer I promise. ****Please review and let me know what you think? F****eedback is always welcome - both negative and positive. Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Where are you taking us?"

Andy didn't answer; his eyes were fixed on the road ahead. Janet breathed out slowly. The chances of him telling her what he intended to do were slim. Her shoulder burnt like hell, and blood dripped down her face from where the car's glass had shattered and cut her. She felt Taisie's hand creep onto her shoulder, gripping on tightly, "Mum, what's happening?"

Janet curled her fingers around her daughter's hand, glancing nervously at Andy. He hadn't heard.

"I don't know".

She wanted to tell her it would be alright. That Gill and Rachel would come and rescue them. Sherlock would figure it out, of course she would. And they'd all be back home safe with Gran soon. Janet daren't say any of this aloud, and hoped that the squeeze of her daughter's hand would tell her all she needed to know.

.o.0.o.

"Boss! A white van's been reported speeding up the motorway with a woman and two children" Mitch shouted as he ran into the office, waving papers in the air frantically. Gill froze; she knew he must have gotten Taisie and Elise too. Rachel looked as if she was about to throw up; a hand clutching her stomach as she tried to breathe steadily.

"Where are they headed?" DCI Murray asked calmly.

"Stockport" Mitch replied, "Back towards the Osmond's' home".

Gill stared out of her window as she rang DCI Dodson's number, "Where are you going you little… Julie. It's Gill".

"I take it you have news?" Julie enquired.

"We've located Roper's car. He's headed towards Stockport-"

"Stockport?" Julie interrupted, rubbing her forehead, "Why's he going there?"

"We don't know" Gill replied, "Can you call the firearms? We think he's armed".

Julie nodded, "Of course".

There was a moment's silence as Gill considered the course of action she wanted to take. Julie could almost hear her thinking.

"I'm gonna go after him" Gill confirmed quietly, her tone of her voice serious, "and I'm taking Rachel with me".

Julie was about to reprimand her friend, but Gill cut her off, "I know you don't approve, but you can't dissuade me. Last time I was late and we nearly lost her… I'm not taking that risk again…"

Julie swallowed, knowing how stubborn Gill could be at times. This manoeuvre could cause serious damage. Not knowing what Andy's plans were, the team could do something which - although with the best intentions - could cause harm to Janet and the girls, or to the team itself. Julie knew she should argue back; make Gill see reason, but something kept her from doing so.

"I'll keep you informed" Julie stated finally.

"Thanks Slap" Gill spoke, grabbing her coat and racing out the door with Rachel trailing behind her.


End file.
